__________________QUICK STATSName Mariella
Age 18 years (human)
Gender Female
Species Human
Ethnicity Connlaothian
Height 5'2"
Occupation Commoner; daughter of a cobbler
Residence Connlaoth
__________________IN-DEPTH STUFFPhysical Description Delicate features and an angelic countenance give a strong sense of naivete to Mariella's expression; wide eyes and a heart-shaped face taper down to a narrow chin, seeming both foxy and sweet at the same time. Long tendrils of semi-curled ash blonde hair fall to middle-back, a light counterpoint to brown eyes. Her neck is long and delicate, her body thin and angular.
Personality Positive-Charming: Mariella has a country-born charm about her, something sweet and simple that typically disarms even suspicious minds.
-Courageous: Motivated by revenge and buoyed up by the desire to see good things in her world, she has an often-foolish amount of bravery, which typically gets her into sticky situations but usually sees her all the way through.
-Driven: Mari's sense of purpose and utter determination are some of her strongest traits; once she's set her mind on something, she's very hard to turn away.
Neutral-Adventurous: Despite the fact that this invariably gets Mari into some form of trouble, she typically ends up eager to undertake the unknown.
-Curious: "Curiosity killed the cat" is the common saying, and since one of Mariella's favored forms is a cat, this might even prove to be true. She has an insatiable curiosity about almost anything, making her both annoying and adorable.
-Cautious: Since being in the world on her own, Mariella has had to learn the hard lesson that not everyone can be trusted.
Negative-Cunning: Despite the fact that she's sweet on the outside, the young shapeshifter is also familiar with tugging heart-strings and simple manipulations; she'll do almost anything to get her own way.
-Impatient: Not content with waiting, for the most part, though she has learned to temper this trait somewhat. Mariella can still be irritable if she feels something is taking too long.
Magic/AbilitiesShapeshifting: Fairly self-explanatory, Mariella can control the shape her body takes. She is limited by the fact that she has to physically touch and commune with whatever she's trying to shift into; this comprises of essentially laying hands on her target and letting her own spirit flow into the desired creature. This isn't always effective; if she's particularly stressed or unable to concentrate, she won't be able to reproduce the creature. The upside to this is that she can physically reproduce most creatures, though if she recreates another humanoid figure, she will not take on their quirks, habits, or vocal range. While her grasp of taking on others' appearances is still rather rudimentary, her ability to shift into easier creatures has increased, so that she can usually do so even in tense situations.
Weaknesses Despite the ability to change her shape at will, Mariella is still mortal, and therefore easily injured. Also, when in an animal shape, she still retains the ability to speak, which forces her to be very careful in any shape but her own.
RelationshipsN/A
History Mariella had a primarily simple life, her father a cobbler and mother a sempstress. Life was relatively privileged, with Mariella and her older sister working with their mother at sewing and home-making, and her brother working with their father in his shop. They certainly weren't poor but likewise weren't often gifted with the patronage of the high nobility, though her father was skilled at making delicate slippers and hardy boots, and her mother was beautiful with an embroidery needle. Things were fine until Mariella was 13, at which point her world changed: subtly, but for the worse.
Mari's older sister was a comely 15-year old, far prettier than her younger sister and engaged to a middle-class merchant's son. She caught the eye of a young nobleman's son, and after he took her to bed one night, left her pregnant. Shamed by their daughter, Mariella's parents ousted their eldest daughter, though their young girl kept a close relationship with her sister. When her sister sought out the father of her child, the nobleman called him a bastard and his mother a whore, denying her any sort of compensation. Shortly after, both child and mother died in sickness, and while Mariella's family survived, her innocent naivete and ideals of true love did not.
It was during puberty that her shapeshifting powers began to appear, though whether because of an influx of hormones or the deep anger she felt toward the nobleman's son is hard to tell.
For many months, she managed to keep her powers secret, to the point where not even her closest family knew. However, as word of the mage camps trickled in to her home town, Mariella grew more aware of the risk that she ran simply by being herself. As such, she left her family with nothing more than a note and a bit of money, whereupon she tried to live rough in the woods for a time. After the unqualified disaster that this turned out to be, she headed instead into larger cities, staying for a time and working odd jobs, until she came to Uthlyn, with the idea that she'd be safest hiding directly under the anti-magic faction's nose.
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