Litha Al'Lanore

Litha Al'Lanore
Player: @Witch_Hazel
The world is full of people who will be there to see you through, you simply have to let them do so.
Character Build
Class Focus:	Magic Healer
Power Level:	40
Research & Development:	Arcane
Biographical Data
Real Name:	Litha Etanu Al'Lanore
Known Aliases:	None
Gender:	Female
Species:	Human
Ethnicity:	Caucasian
Place of Birth:	Johannesburg, South Africa
Base of Operations:	Vibora Bay
Relatives:	Grandmother, Mairelle
Characteristics
Age:	18
Height:	5'4"
Weight:	108 lbs.
Eyes:	Violet
Hair:	Auburn
Complexion:	Tan
Physical Build:	Slight
Physical Features:	None
Status
Alignment:	██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ Neutral Good
Reputation:	██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ Reclusive
Identity:	Public
Years Active:	1
Citizenship:	United States
Occupation:	Assistant Shopkeep
Education:	Home School
Marital Status:	Single
Known Powers and Abilities
Mystical
Equipment and Paraphernalia
Books

Attributes
	Strength	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █		Endurance	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
	Agility	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █		Speed	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
	Fighting	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █		Projectiles	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
	Durability	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █		Resistance	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
	Intelligence	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █		Psyche	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
	Intuition	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █		Charisma	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
ReldinBox Template

(This is still very much a work in progress, as may be obvious by some of the blank or partially completed fields below. I am working to add to it as I can, so please bear with me! ^_^ )

Leading as quiet, and as simple a life as she can, Litha Al’Lanore can most often be found in the city she now calls home, Vibora Bay, Florida. Residing in a large apartment belonging to her coven, the young witch keeps to herself reading books through most of her waking hours, however, she has taken up employment as an assistant shopkeeper at Phantasmagoria for her dear friend, and adopted brother, Amadhan. Though the Fae shop owner is a bit obnoxious and his disorganized and untidy nature clashes with her perfectionist personality, Litha cannot think of anything else she would rather be doing. When the witch finds it necessary, she leaves the comforting quietude of Vibora Bay for the bustling metropolis of Millennium City. As a part of The Ultimate Guardians, Litha finds herself in the large city more often than she might care to be, however, she gladly does so for the sake of her friends, and those she secretly holds in her heart as family.

History

(This is the history of magic as Litha has been taught by her coven. Many other variations and interpretations exist among different scholars of magic.)

The Beginnings

In the time when this world was birthed, an event today’s scientists will call the Big Bang, tremendous amounts of energy were given off. Much of this energy became heat, physical movement, and light. A fraction of this energy became Aether. The Aether surrounded this new world protectively. It ran through the very veins and heart of the planet. Eventually, it gave birth to some of the first children of this new world that in the Old Tongue were named Feahin. Born before them, but wrought of chaos, were the Naurrauko or Fire Demons. Also emerging prior to the Feahin were the Kemenhin, or the Children of the Earth Mother. For millennia, the Feahin shared the planet with the chaotic Naurrauko and the even-minded Kemenhin. Each kept the other in balance, however, the Naurrauko were too powerful to be held in check forever. As a method of balance, a new elemental race was born; the Alugwaith, the Daughters of the Ocean. Aether, Earth and Water fought back the demonic elementals of Fire. With the Alugwaith to restore the balance, the Naurrauko were pushed down into the Earth’s core where the Kemenhin sealed them away. This millennia long struggle was not without consequence, however, for from the clash between Fire and Water came the last element; Air. Thus, the Vilyatura, Wind Wraiths, were born unto this world.

New Life

As time progressed, each of these primordial races gave birth to new life upon the planet. The Alugwaith created the seas and the life within them. The Vilyatura created the flying creatures and created a place for the Alugwaith to float clouds of rain that seeded the Earth from which the Kemenhin created lush plant life and the animals which lived off of them. The Naurrauko where too distant to directly influence this new world, so instead they created an end to anything that lived upon the world, which was to be called death. Unable to add anything of their own to the world, the Feahin conspired with the other races to create an entirely new race, one made from each of the five elemental races together. Stealing away some of the Naurraukos’ power, the other four races used a part of themselves to create the race of Man. They were proud of their new children, however, the Feahin were saddened. They had contributed very little as they had so much less to contribute being of the Aether. To correct this, the Feahin instilled Man with a gift: Magic. With this innate ability born within them, Man would be able to tap into the currents of the Aether and manipulate the energy in any way they required. Man, however, was not intelligent enough to understand at so early a stage, and those who unintentionally learned they could wield such power, burned out like dry kindling to die an agonizing death.

Witches

The first of Humankind to successfully learn rudimentary magic were women. The reason for this was nothing so base or unfounded as to say they were simply the more intelligent of the genders. No, it was far more primal. While pregnant with child, some women began to have visions such as past events they had never witnessed or futures they could not possibly know. Others saw the spirits of the dead and spoke with them. These were the simple beginnings of magic for Man, and it all came down to the simple fact that these women were pregnant. The temporary joining of an unborn spirit with that of their own increased the magical sensitivity of these women. Time came and went, and some few humans had learned to tap into the Aether over the years, but it had been very rare. This newly found sensitivity to the Aether eventually led to the rise of shamanistic rituals and belief in strange gods, which humanity held on to for some time. Generations went by, and a very small few had begun to learn ways in which to wield this magic more directly. By this time Mankind had established religion and a devout belief in a singular God, other religions falling by the wayside. In the height of this new faith, there was no room for magic and thusly, no tolerance for its practice. When it was learned that small groups of women were performing unnatural feats, they were branded pagans and outcasts. The Church named these women witches. Burned, stoned, or drowned for heresy against God, these women were driven out. Instead of having the desired effect of eliminating all practices of witchcraft as the Church sought, it instead made these women more determined and angry. Witches opened the doors for many in the pursuit of magic, much of which was used for terrible ends. This gave rise a sinister time during the Middle Ages, making this period truly the Dark Ages.

The First True Witch

At the turn of the 14th century, witchcraft was added to the list of heresies one's soul would forever be condemned for by the Church. This came about as the result of one Irishwoman's seduction into a world she had never imagined, and the violation of this world from another.

The burning of those accused.

Lady Alice Kyteler was an Irish woman born into wealth, though she could never be satisfied. Having visions of a man since she had been a girl, Alice had been on a search for answers her entire life. Those answers came in the form of a handsome and cunning Incubus. Having crossed the veil between the Realm of Fae and our own, the man from Alice's dreams sought the young woman out. Calling himself Richard, the Incubus took Alice by surprise and filled her days with wonder. Teaching her how to wield the magical currents that surrounded them, Richard created the first true witch in the Irishwoman. She found herself unable to resist the Incubus and welcomed him into her bed. Their tryst, however, was short-lived. Having passed on the skills he wished for Alice to learn and finally winning her body, Richard disappeared back into the Fae Realm. Alice was unable to cope with the loss, for the Incubus had been everything to her. Becoming furious and unstable, Alice Kyteler unleashed the first war of magic upon the land. No one could ever be a suitable replacement for her dear Richard and so she decided the world must burn in mourning for her loss. Alice did take on young apprentices, creating a clan of witches from women her dreams had chosen for her to take. Each witch had a particular talent for a specific area of magical skills and Alice used them all to wreak havoc, however, she was not satisfied. Forming a witch's circle with her apprentices, Alice unleashed a curse upon the land. This horrible pestilence spread unchecked and earned its name as the Black Plague.

After years of hunting down these witches, the paladins of the Church finally found Alice's coven. Alice, however, foresaw their arrival and sent her most powerful witch-sisters to the corners of the world, to include her daughter. An elderly woman now, yet appearing almost young, Lady Alice sat in an old rocking chair by her hearth as the paladins charged into her home. Alice had decided that her time was ended upon this world and she would find dear Richard in the next, and so there was no struggle to subdue the witch. When the great paladins returned to England with the witch, the citizenry cheered in celebration for nearly a fortnight. Alice was locked away in the darkest of cells, beaten, abused, and deprived of any food or water. While bedraggled and bruised, the witch did not die. The newly elected Pope personally rode in to oversee the witch's trial. It was, of course, merely for show. Alice was found guilty of witchcraft, which the Pope had decided must be added to the list of heresies against God and the Church. The punishment was death. The day the sentence was to be carried out, the guards could find no sign of Lady Alice Kyteler within the cells. She had simply vanished. Some believe she had committed suicide but the Church covered it up as a disappearance to save face. Many others believe she fled to the countryside of England and rejoined her coven. There are, however, a few who held the belief that Richard had come for Alice, and together they returned to the Fae Realm to live out eternity.

The Birth of Covens

When the witch-sisters fled, each vowed to start a new coven and keep the art of witchcraft alive. Seeing what had been wrought by the single-minded determination and hatred of the Lady Alice, these women chose to remain in secrecy and teach only to the willing. Of these sisters there were eight, to include Lady Alice's own daughter. Each of these witches, unlike Alice who had mastery over much, became specialized in singular fields of magic. While magic truly was not meant to fit into separate schools, the human mind created them in order to attempt an understanding of it. That being the case, each of the Eight Schools of Magic became: Abjuration, Alteration, Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, and Necromancy. Over the years, the witches were named by their covens as follows:

Abjuration: Castella the Mother

Alteration: Sheema the Changer

Conjuration: Lillian the Summoner

Divination: Rualda the Seer

Enchantment: Eliza of the Dell

Invocation: Nyla DesMortia

Illusion: Tierna the Unseen

Necromancy: Alaysia Darklight

Diversity

From the first coven mistresses down through each new generation, the eight groups of women grew in size until it became clear that new covens must be created by branching out from the parent groups. Here we shall narrow our focus to a solitary offshoot from one of these parent covens: The Coven of the Seven Spirits.

Breaking away from the Darklight Coven, one witch set out on her own into the Northeastern reaches of Africa. The name by which she called herself was Saeryn. Spending many long years among the native peoples of Egypt, Saeryn had discovered a small number of magically attuned girls. Knowing that it would raise suspicion if girls suddenly began to disappear, the witch mistress bid her time, innocently finding ways to speak with each of the girls she discovered as often as she could. The witch grew close with each who seemed they could be willing to join her when the time came. She also befriended a local man named Bakari and had him teach her about his people and the land. Saeryn wanted to learn as much as she could in order to find the best method by which she could convince gifted young women to join her circle, and Bakari was only too happy to oblige the exotic beauty.

An artist's rendition of one of the founding witch sisters, Alaysia Darklight.

After more than two years of furtively trying to court the bewitching Saeryn, Bakari openly confessed his love for the beautiful woman. Saeryn was touched, but she had a mission to accomplish and could not allow herself to fall for such pleasant distractions. Instead of separating herself from him, however, the witch kept him close and found a way to achieve her goals with his help. Women, and especially girls, were barely tolerated in this society. The Egyptians has been overrun and conquered some time ago by the armies of Sultans bringing Islam into the land. No longer revered or worshiped, women became little more than outcasts and slaves. Saeryn knew how to free the girls she wanted, leaving no suspicions and bringing the girls to feel loyalty to the would-be coven mistress.

Saeryn would declare the chosen girls witches.

It took time to convince Bakari of the assured success in this plan. Saeryn explained that she would cause unexplainable events to occur around the girls she desired and then step forward offer her aid: The aid of a Witch Hunter. The Sultan Abu al-Ma'ali would not hesitate to condemn these girls to death. It was common enough practice in a brutal display of saving one's honor as it was. The witch was simply going to use their own religious laws against them for her own ends. Once the people were convinced of these terrible crimes of witchcraft, Saeryn would instill upon them the belief that the only method of salvation for these peoples' very souls would be to burn them with witch's fire - something only Saeryn herself could offer to them, of course. This would ensure no one else tried to kill the girls before turning them over, and if they did, Saeryn would leave little doubt as to the severity of failure in bringing the girls to be properly vanquished.

Dressed as a mysterious man from foreign lands, Saeryn made her claims to the Sultan that witches were among his people and that he needed to allow the Witch Hunter to sniff them all out before it was too late. The Sultan laughed merrily. Behind the veiled cloak, Saeryn smiled. The following night a horrific fire burned through the marketplace, one which they could not stop and burned everything it touched. Less than a week later, some of the wells began drying up. The water seekers could not explain it. It was when the dead refused to stay buried that the Sultan had the Witch Hunter sent for. In her guise, Saeryn asked the Sultan to provide a handful of men carrying iron shackles and to have twelve pillars erected within a pit of dry timbers. She promised to return at dusk with every witch within his province. True to his word, the Witch Hunter returned to the palace gates with twelve girls in tow, each between the ages of six and seventeen, and each shackled to the next by chains of iron. Escorting them to the pit, the Witch Hunter shackled each of the girls to a pillar and withdrew to stand beside the Sultan's entourage. Holding aloft a small glass bottle, no bigger than a man's fist, the Witch Hunter explained of how the blessed water within would ignite the timbers below and set the girls aflame, ending their dark terrors.

The glamor was intricately woven.

To each and every person attending the execution of these 'witches,' twelve girls were all burned alive at the stake, and as the screams of the last finally died away water returned to the wells. The dead walked no more. The people breathed easy knowing they had carried out justice. To Saeryn, however, the truth was known. The 'girls' within the pit burning were little more than stuffed rags. The vial she threw was simply water, the fire her own doing. No one truly died that night.

As everyone watched the witches burn, Saeryn slipped away to join the actual girls whose parents gave them up as witches on the simple word of a stranger. Some would feel anger, but in time Saeryn would soothe this. Most would feel loss and abandonment. This too, the witch could ease in time. Bakari had opened their eyes to the cruelty that had taken place this night, and Saeryn swooped in to hold each of them up. With Bakari at her side, the witch Saeryn set off for the caves in which these girls would learn to become her coven, the Coven of the Seven Spirits.

The Al'Lanore Witches

Mairelle

Saeryn was long-lived and survived Bakari by nearly three centuries before passing into the Aether herself, but not before giving birth to a daughter, Nyalla. For nearly a century, Nyalla led the coven. She too had a daughter, and the spirits named her Mairelle.

Mairelle was born in the early 19th century and the lands in which the coven resided were now claimed by a powerful tribal leader named Shaka Zulu. The people of the Zulu Kingdom had a healthy respect for the witches and kept a wide berth of their lands, seeking their aid only on rare occasions when the need was great. The final such occurrence was in the 1870's when the last ruler of the Zulu Kingdom, Cetshwayo, came begging the witches for aid in his war against the British. Mairelle had little love for the Anglo British peoples and sent with Cetshwayo four sisters who were skilled in spiritweaving, one of which was her first born daughter, Kalsha. It was a mistake the coven mistress soon came to regret. Her visions revealed to her the capture and execution of each sister and the impending loss of the Zulu tribes against the British army. The British army, under Queen Victoria defeated Cetshwayo and annexed his lands, creating thirteen small kingdoms that she allowed Cetshwayo to rule over. It was a puppet show that did not last long.

Once Northern Africa had been occupied, the British moved ever downward to expand over the majority of the continent. Unlike the native peoples of the land, the British did not suffer any witches to live within their lands. Several of the smaller coven houses Mairelle had established in other parts of Africa over the years were discovered, the witches burned alive. They brought holy men to aid in purging this infested land of witches and tribal shaman alike. Mairelle pulled her remaining coven sisters back within the security of the original coven home.

Mairelle hated the British. They felt a deep need to conquer everyone and everything simply to fatten their coffers back home. They were, in the elder witch's opinion, nothing more than a vile pestilence. If that had been the only problematic issue with the Brits, Mairelle would have little care or concern. It was the Witch Hunters that the Ecclesiarchy had been training for centuries Mairelle feared. The cowards hid behind talismans of protection which negated many spell forms, and some even quieted an entire area of aetheric currents altogether. Any sister these vile hunters subdued were made to suffer humiliation, indignities, and torture the thought of which left Mairelle furious and sickened. The coven mistress would not see her sisters face such an unthinkable end. The coven was sealed.

Litha

Mairelle knew that her daughter, Giselle, would never survive the rigors of child birth. The magic she had employed to see her granddaughter born into this world, her spirit fused to that of Etanu's, demanded a great sacrifice; That sacrifice was to be her own daughter's life. Desperately the elder witch tried and tried again everything she could think to do, but every effort proved fruitless. The Spirits had decided and that was to be that.

With the breaking of dawn at 6:47am on June 14th, 1993 Litha Etanu Al'Lanore was born. Holding her newly born daughter, Giselle Al'Lanore passed from this world and into Aether at 6:49am. A stoic Mairelle kissed her daughter's forehead and left for her chambers without a word. The uncertain midwives cleaned the child and prepared the mother's body for the funeral rites that would come.

Mairelle did not leave her chamber for nearly seven long days. She did not come to take her granddaughter. She did not attend her daughter's funeral. Finally emerging from her chambers, the elder witch stoically came for her newly born granddaughter. The week long bereavement must have settled the coven mistress' emotions, for she seemed to be far more accepting of all that had transpired; or so the sisters of the coven believed. Looking at her granddaughter’s face, the witch could see her daughter looking back up at her... Except for those eyes. Those violet eyes that were a result of the girl's shared spirit with the demoness Etanu. Mairelle, however, harbored a deep resentment towards Etanu for indirectly causing the death of her only daughter, which also led her to look upon Litha with disdain. It was difficult for her, placing the love she had for her daughter into this young girl while feeling a bitter anger towards her at the same time.

These feelings led Mairelle to be a very strict and unforgiving mistress over Litha.

As with the other women who preceded her in the bloodline, Litha Al'Lanore was innately very attuned to the Aether. As her education began, at the age of two, Litha's aptitude for manipulating the magical eddies around her became very apparent. Mairelle, however, chose to remain unimpressed and brow-beat the girl every time she was successful; punished her severely when she was not. The coven mistress did not allow any of the coven sisters to coddle Litha, and the girl grew up only knowing the firm love her grandmother showed her.

On her fifteenth birthday, a rite of passage into womanhood is given to each girl within the coven. This is something similarly found within other covens and clans of various peoples. The sages of Northern Isles, the Water Seekers of the Sahara, and the shaman of the Lakota are a few examples of people with such customs. As with most of the rites, Litha was sent to survive on her own with not but her wit and skill to guide and protect herself. Most of her coven sisters had all been forced to brave the plains north of their coven house. Mairelle, however, felt Litha required a more difficult task as was almost always the case.

Mairelle went to Litha's chamber on the dawn of her fifteenth birthday and found the girl was already awake and waiting for her grandmother to arrive. The coven mistress stood in the doorway for some time watching her granddaughter before finally entering. When she spoke, it was quietly and she related to Litha how her task was different. She was to be sent far away to a climate the young witch would find difficulty adapting to. Litha had merely nodded in understanding. The elder witch placed a smooth stone in the girl's hand and closed her small fingers around it. With a quiet incantation, Mairelle had watched as her granddaughter disappeared in a flash of light and a thunderclap of sound. The coven mistress sat on her granddaughter’s bed for a few long hours staring at the spot in which her granddaughter had last stood.

Litha had opened her eyes to see nothing but white. Her eyes had a hard time adjusting to the harsh glare of the sun as it reflected brightly from the landscape all around. As the warmth of the air from her room quickly dissipated,the harsh cold of the land around her rushed in, hungrily devouring the warmth that remained in her body. The young witch tried to gasp in shock but the air left her lungs in a violent exhalation. The light clothing that barely covered her skin proved useless in defending against the cold. Arms wrapped tightly about herself, Litha shivered and looked around in a panic. There was nothing here except a few copses of trees, large stones, and the snow that blanketed it all heavily. Straining to listen, the young witch could detect nothing around her but eerie silence. If she didn't find shelter and warmth soon, she would die in a very short period of time. Litha knew she had to keep moving and keep blood pumping to her extremities in order to stave of the deathly cold. There had to be something here to help her situation. There 'had' to be 'something!'

Litha took a small step forward and dropped to her knees with a wailing cry. What was she supposed to learn if she had been sent to her death? Why would her own greatmother do this? Where- Where had these come from? Litha noticed a pair of booted footprints in the snow that lead off into the treeline a few dozen yards away.

Someone else was nearby!

Picking herself up with renewed vigor, the young witch had run towards the trees as she followed the footprints. The trail wound through the thick brush and many times Litha had to circle back and find it once more. After what had been nearly an hour of walking, she began losing hope of ever catching up to whoever made these prints as her body slowed and her mind grew clouded. She just wanted to sleep. Just as the thought of taking a short nap became nearly impossible to ignore, a gruff voice caught her attention.

"What the 'ell we have here? A damn tree nymph?" Litha looked up to see a bearded man not ten feet away watching her through goggled eyes, his clothing heavy, a rifle in his hands half raised towards the auburn-haired girl. The gun slowly drooped and he walked cautiously forward. "Who are you? What're you doin' out here? An' where the 'ell are the rest uh your clothes?"

The young witch tried to speak, but her words came out as a quiet sigh.

Three more mend emerged from the trees, encircling her. "No need to worry, girl. We'll warm you up," one of the newcommers said, his voice carrying a different accent from the first.

Another spoke immediately after. "But for now, why don't you take a nap, Red." Litha heard more than felt the crack of a rifle stock against the back of her head, and she languidly watched the snow-covered ground rush upwards just before blackness stole her thoughts.

((Still WIP 6/8/2012))

Friends and Allies

Having known only her coven mistress and sisters all of her life, Litha has had a difficult time finding friendships in America. Perfectly happy in her isolation, the witch did not allow herself to befriend anyone. Eventually, this changed. The first person that she had ever opened up to was a man named Matthew. The two became close over the very brief period of time they had spent together, though Litha refused to admit as much. When news of his death reached her, the young witch learned what heartbreak felt like. It was only then that she was honest with how she felt about him, though it was too late.

After her time in isolation, Litha had an even more difficult time opening up to anyone new. The first person she felt that she could bond with was Michael Hunter, the man who called himself Clericus Priest. Michael took her into his confidence, seeking her aid with a number of mystical issues ranging from searches to the hopeful attempt as salvation for Gloomchant. Michael was a very capable man, however, his devotion to the Divine left him lacking in skills he felt Litha may be better able to deploy. Litha was taken aback by the amount of faith and trust he placed upon such a young and inexperienced witch. Though she sometimes felt he was constantly reminded of his beloved Tavia by her youth and appearance, their relationship was always professional.

Through her workings with Michael, Litha developed the confidence to pursue lending whatever help she may to any of the other Guardians. A handful had come to her seeking aid for various things, both large and small, but none had the impact upon her life that Grant Mayson had. The giant man made of living molten rock sought to find a way to become the simple man he once had been. A small group of the Guardians who specialized in various fields of talents ranging from the mystical to science offered to help. Litha did not know what it was she had gotten herself into when she volunteered to help the beleaguered man. In the time they had spent together, Litha grew very fond of Grant, admitting he was her closest and quite literally, only friend. Though it seemed strange to Litha, he seemed to have a difficult time with her admission, though he eventually found himself touched. Always there when she needed someone to talk to, Grant became one of the dearest people in her life. It was an odd relationship; the gentle giant and the petite young girl, but Litha cared about him dearly and was quietly jealous when the far lovelier women that constantly surrounded him hung off of his arms. His disappearance left her without the emotional rock she had become so dependent upon.

It was Litha's dear friend Nika, Kindle Arrow, who filled the void left behind by Grant's disappearance. Nika could see the young witch needed a friend and would not take no for an answer. Gently pushing her way into Litha's life, the two became good friends once Litha realized she shouldn't distance herself from everyone forever. Spending time with Nika made Litha happy, even if the fiery blonde woman constantly interrupted her research. Nika was also one of the very few people that the witch opened up to about her dangerous visions. Waking with horrible bruises and, at times, more serious wounds it was not long before Litha could not hide the aftermath of those nightly visions from Nika. Afraid to sleep alone, Litha accepted Nika's offer to stay with her throughout the night and curled up against her dear friend, Litha slept through the night without incident for the first time that she could remember. The spirit within Nika had protected her from harm. This soon became a regular occurrence; Nika would stop by casually and visit with Litha, running her hands through the witch's red hair as she fell asleep. When Nika admitted her feelings for Litha one night, the young witch was completely caught unprepared. Never having had an actual relationship of any kind, Litha was unsure of her friendship with the other woman then. She loved Nika, and certainly loved their time together - she cherished it dearly. Litha voiced her concerns to her dear friend and to Nika's credit, the fiery blonde never once made the young witch feel uncomfortable. She still thinks of Nika as a very close friend.

Then there is, of course, her relationship with Amadhan, through whom she has developed a stronger friendship with both Virginia Bennett and Alexxia Moon. Litha views the dynamics between herself and Amadhan as very peculiar. Here is a Fae man who is by no stretch of the imagination more beautiful than many women, yet not once has the young witch ever thought of him as so. Through and awkward friendship that has grown over the time they have spent together, something more came of it. Litha loves Amadhan very much and would do anything for him, excluding the mischievous, and she dearly looks upon him as her older, overly protective brother. Though he torments her endlessly, she knows it is out of love and not malice and why she feels perfectly comfortable attempting to match wits with the older Fae. Litha finds it all too easy to get the upper hand by bruising his vanity with comments on his looks or his age, which she is all too certain is not thirty two. She now works at his shop, "Phantasmagoria" during the daylight hours, and having only the chimeric Steerpike and cute kitten, Buttons, as company most days, Litha gives in to her obsessive compulsive tendencies and keeps Amadhan's store looking perfectly organized and cleaned. Beautifully, newly written labels adorn everything and every bottle, jar, and bushel are arranged upon the pristine shelves in alphabetical order - which seems to cause Amadhan no little amount of discomfort while leaving Litha with a bright smile and fulfilled sense of pride.

Through Amadhan, Litha has gotten to know Virginia Bennett, or Ginny, far better. The young witch looks up to the older woman, to which Ginny simply scoffs. In Litha's eyes, Ginny is the woman every other woman tries to be. She is extremely beautiful, and every time Litha watches her enter or leave a room the effect is noticeable. All heads turn to watch. What is just as impressive, if less obvious, is Ginny's incredible ability to figure out or fix anything. The woman is far more intelligent than most people could ever realize, but what is even more amazing to the witch is Ginny's ease in her own skin. She dresses in the way she wishes to and says whatever she feels needs to be said, and Litha admires that. A mere glowing ember to Ginny's roaring bonfire, Litha often stares at Ginny when she isn't looking, in adoration wishing she could just be half as lovely and confident. Likely because of this, Litha desperately wants Ginny to find happiness because it breaks her heart to see someone she cares about and looks up to so distraught as she has been recently. That being the case, Litha finds herself seriously disliking Ginny's sister Charlotte Bennett because the prudish twin does little else but slander her sister.

Of all the relationships Litha has developed, none could be more strange to her than that which she shares with Alexxia Moon. Born naturally sensitive to the auras of others, Alexxia's is one of the hardest to be around. Feeling of pure love, Alexxia's aura has been overwhelming at times for the young witch. Though she never admitted as much to anyone, Litha had, for a short time, believed she was in love with the silver haired goddess of a woman. Being around her is like a heady intoxication for Litha during certain cycles of the moon, during which she tries to avoid being close. Alexxia, however, has been wonderful and gone out of her way to help the young girl, for which Litha is very grateful. She does still find Alexxia confusing as she is very forward with everyone and in no way what Litha considers reserved, and the witch finds it quite confusing when talking to the woman with blue on blue eyes.

Basis for Litha’s Character

Witches and Magic

I have always had a fascination with witches and magic for as long as I could remember. Even with this being true, my first character was a mutant that I carried over from a writing/art-based role play group. I loved her, and I had fun interacting with people in various situations, but something felt as though it were missing. I wanted something more. I wanted to bring to life my love of magic, and from this Litha Al’Lanore was born.

Where She Originated

In some fictional writing I had done a number of years ago, simply for my own enjoyment, I created a young girl who was one of the two main characters throughout the story. The name I came up with for her was Litha. In the very beginning of the story, this girl was to be used as a sacrifice to one of the gods by The Church in order to bring forth a powerful avatar they may bend to their wills and have serve their needs. Driving an athame into the girl’s heart, the ritual was complete. For Litha, time stopped as she walked the plane within her mind. There she was confronted by a demoness named Etanu, the creature that the priests had summoned. Promising to help the girl if she willingly accepted the demoness, Etanu merged her spirit with that of Litha’s own upon the girl’s acceptance. The binding spells within the ritual hall were meant to hold a demon, not a possessed human and Etanu foresaw this. She slaughtered the priests and, with Litha’s spirit subdued, became a violent avatar of the Daemon Lord Kheledron. This eventually moved on to follow the actual heroine of the story, an Elven Paladin named Jeslyn who set out to destroy the demoness, only to learn the truth about her and bring Litha’s consciousness to the fore. Working together, Litha devotes her life completely to helping Jeslyn in her search for answers about a hidden past.

Litha’s last name also comes from the same storyline, however, it was not her actual surname. Al’Lanore was the name of the Goddess Jeslyn served, the Mother of Life. It is another name I simply ‘came up with,’ and when I made Litha in Champions, I felt it suited the young witch.

Thoughts and Views

-Litha's upbringing has made her very mature for being a very young adult. She can come across as very proper and sometimes sound much older and wiser than her years may suggest.

-Often very naive about many things Americans take for granted as common or casual, and doesn't always catch what others feel should be obvious.

-Sometimes, Litha is not as naive as she chooses to seem.

-Litha has the scent of orange blossoms, and often a faint hint of blackberry tea.

-Litha speaks with a very slight Afrikaans accent.

-Able to read, translate and speak many spell languages such as Ancient, Old World, Dragon, High Demon Cant, Low Demon Cant, Spellforms, Magical Symbology, and Witchcant.

-When it comes to music, Litha is not very gifted, however, she absolutely loves the sound of hauntingly beautiful melodies played on a piano. As far as mainstream music goes, she doesn't bother, with one exception being Angie's songs.

-Having little in the way of fashion sense, most of Litha's nicer wardrobe were either gifts from Kindle Arrow or suggestively tailored by Grant Mayson. When left to her own devices, Litha can end up dressing herself in very odd outfits.

-Litha is more than a little bit of a perfectionist due in part to her spell work, while the rest is simply her personality. Feeding off of that, she can be a little OCD when it comes to keeping things neat and in order.

-Having been born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, Litha decided to apply for and receive citizenship in the United States. As such, the witch has no idea why people laugh or stare at her blankly when she answers that she is African American.

-Litha absolutely despises the use of idioms, likely because she doesn't understand many of them and never can seem to get them right.

-The letter Matt left Litha upon his death is locked within an ornate wooden box, sealed with wards. She buried the box upon the hill covered in snow that overlooked the valley where Matt had taken her during their forced isolation within the mountains. Though a painful memory, Litha returns to the very same spot speaking into the wind, hoping her words find Matthew's spirit.

RP Hooks

((These are just a few ideas one may use ICly to get Litha's attention. I try never to turn down an opportunity to role play unless something OOCly requires my attention, or an issue ICly prevents it. Litha is not very sociable at all unless she knows you, but she will always politely stop and listen should someone decide to speak with her.))

-Anyone she considers a friend or loved one, need but ask and she will drop anything to see them.

-Loose acquaintances, such as her fellow Guardians, can call on her whenever she is on Comm and in person when not and she will gladly help out with a problem or simply sit as an attentive listener when someone just wishes to talk.

-If she doesn't know someone, she likely won't ever venture out just to speak with them. She's a reclusive person, however, if that same person were to seek her out, she will do her best in getting to know them better.

-Working at Amadhan's shop "Phantasmagoria", one can find her there and ask for help or advice dealing with the arcane, herbalism, and the like when the Fae shopkeep is out dancing in trees.

What Others Have to Say About Her

Feel free to leave your thoughts here!

"Sich a wicked wee witch! With her tidyin' an' her organisin'. Tsk. Cannae git any peace. An' she takes th'side a' Steerpike an' th'cat when they've ruined somethin'! But ah also wouldnae change her fae th'world. Fae all she's th'thorn in m'side, she's also guid an' sweet an' kind, an' ah love her like a wee sister." - Amadhan

"Better dancer than Comrade let on." -Real Soviet Damage

"Litha is sweet. She used to be gween too. Now she's back to herself. I wuv her!" -Chocolate Chip Chelsea

"I trust her." -Shinnosuke Yamagami