Myrellé
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-- A Former Tidal League Corsair
A world-weary elf with a new lease on life. Armed with nothing but her knowledge, experiences, and a super-suit of enchanted armor, she’ll take down anything that threatens those important to her.
The Crossroads Tournament is an unwelcome diversion for her, though the prize of a wish is tantalizing in its own right. She’d still rather avoid interacting with any higher beings, but her dearest companion Pharia seems to think otherwise, seeing it as an opportunity to further their goals.
Yet, even as Myrellé hoists the banner of one cause already…one has to wonder what she may truly wish for if she's able to take the crown here in the Crossroads…
Table of Contents
BackstoryMyrellé hails from a world where magic was sealed away after being overused and exploited for centuries. A youth during those times, she still fondly remembers the days when she could sing her spellsongs in peace or watch the mages of her homeland ply their trade.
But no longer. In a last bid to preserve the stability of the world, the Arch-Spirits sacrificed themselves to seal magic away within the language of the Ancients, leaving few ways to tap into its potential. The Elves, whose love of magic and sharing of its techniques across the world started all of this, were punished even further by being denied access altogether.
No matter how much they studied the ancient language, they can only ever grasp at their former prosperity through the writings or inscriptions of others.
That was the cold reality that Myrellé lived with every day. A warrior that failed to defend her people when the other nations either sought to blame them or exploit them after the Sealing. A songstress whose music would never regain the vivaciousness of the past. A ranger that keeps a solitary vigil over ruins of an age long gone…
That is, until a certain Half-Dwarf Runeweaver, one Pharia Glenhill, came crashing into her life. Without exaggeration, the young(ish) runeweaver with big dreams completely shattered Myrellé’s barriers and became the sole bright spot in an otherwise dark world for the weary elf.
Myrellé places the well-being of Pharia above her own, and though she fights for the noble goal of restoring magic to its former state and destroying the institutions that would abuse it…it is more akin to her adopting Pharia’s dreams as her own.
Of course, she dreams of being able to use magic again herself…but seeing as the restriction placed upon the Elves was separate from the sealing of magic itself, she’s long since shoved away such “selfish” desires to the darkest recesses of her mind. There was no guarantee that undoing the sealing of magic would restore her people (what remains of them at least) to their former glory in the first place… |
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Appearance
An elf that would seem more at home in one of her people’s ancient songhalls, possessed of such beauty that tales should've been told of her across all the land. But despite her fair features, one is instead more likely to notice her sharp, cold eyes first. Then, if she hadn’t already subdued them by that point, they might see the dull green and brown leathers of an experienced ranger she uses as her outfit during her day to day activities.
No matter whether she is dressed for work or relaxation, one can almost always find her prized wood-carved flute somewhere on her person. It’s rare to hear her play these days, but remains as a nostalgic reminder of her bardic past.
When fully equipped, her entire body is encased in runeweaved (enchanted) plate armor, pitch black in color with green adornments. Despite being formally called “Runeplate” armor, almost none of the runes are visible from the outside, as it would leave the magic vulnerable to disruption. But, even though the runes aren’t visible, the armor itself will glow in a variety of intricate patterns as different runeweave inscriptions are activated and the sealed arcane energy within the runes courses through the metal.
Personality
Cold. Uncaring. Blunt. A variety of unflattering terms in regards to her social skills come to mind for those who’ve encountered her. However there is a distinct feeling that her demeanor stems from personal grief and loss, rather than any ire aimed towards other people.
Though, like many elves, she shows a warmer side to natural creatures, which extends to some extent towards the races that tend to live more alongside the natural world rather than enforcing their will on it.
She can be quite fierce when it comes to Pharia’s wellbeing, but she’s also at her warmest when around her. It’s pretty much the only time anyone has a chance of seeing the reticent elf smile, a sight that will likely stun the unprepared.
Equipment
Runeplate “Nightvale” - Myrellé’s main piece of equipment, an advanced runeweaved set of armor created by Pharia’s talent and Myrellé’s knowledge to combat the remaining “True Runeplate” armor sets in the world. The runeweave meticulously integrated into every square inch of its metal is nearly at the same level of complexity seen during the peak of the Ancient Civilization’s power. When not activated it sits innocently as a small bracelet on one of her arms. Good luck trying to steal it though, as there are some nasty countermeasures implemented.
Longsword “Paragon” - Originally the blade of the late Elven Monarch, Myrellé recovered the shattered and nearly unrecognizable sword from the ruins of her once proud home in the aftermath of the Sealing. A magical blade in nature, it lost much of its ability after the Arch-Spirits’ actions during the Sealing. It has since been enhanced by Pharia to integrate perfectly with Nightvale’s runeweave.
Recurve Bow “Prowler” - Using a relatively common spellsong among elves, Myrellé sang the wood of her favorite tree into the shape of this bow during the Age of Plenty as the old plant was nearing the end of its natural life. It is now one of her only reminders of fonder times, and is a formidable ranged option after being upgraded by Pharia to integrate with Nightvale.
Abilities
Racial Talents
Elven Physiology - Despite their relatively light weight and slender builds, Elves are deceptively fast and strong, armed with a natural grace that their race is known for. After reaching adulthood, they stop aging for all intents and purposes. They have excellent hearing and eyesight as well, making them natural scouts.
Elven Arcanist - Though she can no longer cast spells or sing spellsongs herself, the elves’ natural talent for all things magical shows through when she uses runeweaved equipment, with a deep understanding of how its restrained energy flows and how to best utilize the runes to their max potential.
Learned Abilities (Experiences)
Bardic Upbringing - A proud bard of the past, Myrellé still remembers the days when songs could influence the very fabric of reality by weaving magic into the very melodies and lyrics of their spellsongs. She can be quite charismatic (when she actually wants to be) as a result, and is surprisingly adept at reading social cues. The only problem is she doesn’t have much patience for frivolities these days.
Ranger Training - Complementing her bardic lifestyle, Myrellé trained as a woodsman among the scouts of the fallen Elven Kingdom. Her decades (now centuries) of experience alongside her natural Elven capabilities make her an excellent hunter and tracker.
Combat Veteran - Myrellé served as a soldier on the side of the Elves and what few allies they had during the aftermath of the Sealing. As with any survivor of war, let alone one brutal enough to exterminate entire civilizations, she has gained an iron will and pragmatism while shedding her earlier innocence and cheer. She gained experience with bladed weapons and runeweaved equipment during this time.
Equipment Abilities
To make sense of Myrellé’s abilities which are derived from her equipment, one must know what exactly runeweaving is. At its most basic, a rune can be carved, written, or otherwise depicted on some kind of medium, and then subsequently activated to achieve a singular effect. For example, carving an “Ignite” rune into a piece of wood, and then activating it to set it aflame. Such mundane use was common in the age mythology, but it is a waste of a runeweaver’s life force in modern times.
Instead, the true power of runeweaving comes from “linking” runes. That is, connecting various runes to serve as an “input” in order to achieve a desired “output”. It is analogous to “programming” from more science-focused worlds, except the programming language is both archaic and esoteric. Predicting a resulting output becomes more and more difficult the more runes are involved, and that’s not even taking into account other factors such as the medium’s reactions to magic or adjacent properties such as arcane conductivity. Many lives have been expended for relatively little progress in this research.
As a result of all this, the full suite of abilities granted to Myrellé when fully equipped are a closely guarded secret between her and Pharia. Though it is possible to hypothesize what kinds of abilities are present by looking at more common runeweaving techniques across the land. A few basic examples are as follows:
Form Change - The capability of runeweaved equipment to alter its shape, usually composed of a minor weave revolving around the rune “Shift” and a variety of support runes to achieve a desired effect. For Nightvale, the runes “Shift”, “Contract”, “Expand”, “Float”, and “Sink”, along with the necessary in-between supporting runes allow the armor to change seamlessly between its fully deployed state and an easier to manage bracelet form. Few pieces of equipment boast that level of Form Change, however.
Summon Equipment - Using “Anchor”, “Absorb”, and “Release” runes on a piece of armor as a base, it is possible to then utilize “Dissipate” and “Condense” runes on other equipment to make it so an individual can summon and unsummon said connected pieces of equipment. Myrellé’s weapons each have this runeweave.
Imitate Magic - A term that encompasses an extremely broad scope of runeweaves. In short, it is the use of runes to imitate older forms of magic, such as casting a fireball using the runes “Conjure”, “Fire”, “Shape”, “Flight”, or other similar implementations. Other common spells include barrier or shield spells, or applying attributes to change the offensive nature of the equipment. It’s said that the highest level of runeweave equipment can allow its wearer access to a spell repertoire similar to a veteran mage of the past.
Enhancement - More common than magical imitation, it’s become a widespread practice to create runeweaves that also improve the wearer’s capabilities. Examples include enhanced strength, speed, stamina, the standard attributes that make a warrior more capable. The full extent of Nightvale’s enhancements is unknown, but the common attributes appear to be present and enhanced by a factor far above the average.
Strengths
- Composed - Level-headed, with analytical experience from centuries of surviving across nearly every kind of battlefield.
- Wise - Knowledgeable about her world. In multiversal terms, she is familiar with common fantasy tropes, and can easily derive conclusions on other worlds with variations of common fantasy races, abilities, etc.
- Versatile - At least in magical terms, with an overwhelming variety of abilities granted to her by her equipment along with her natural Elven characteristics.
Weaknesses
- Confidence - While not arrogant or even particularly prideful, Myrellé is very much a veteran and has the mindset to go with it. As a result, she’ll make snap decisions or form conclusions that can be quite wrong, especially in a multiversal setting full of unfamiliar concepts, beings, or powers.
- Mundane Physiology - While Elves do have several advantages over a mundane human, they really aren’t all that different. Without her equipment, Myrellé’s capabilities greatly diminish…though it isn’t that easy to part her from said equipment either.
- Pharia - Pharia’s well-being is paramount, to the point that Myrellé is more than willing to put herself in harm’s way for her benefit. The person in question can be quite hard to predict or control as well, so something unexpected may throw Myrellé off beat quite easily.
Gallery
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| Full Body + Paragon |
Nightvale Deployed |
Prowler |
Author's Notes
I wanted fantasy Iron Man, and that's what I got.
Jokes aside, I've been heavily inspired by series such as Sousou no Frieren and authors such as Brandon Sanderson.
Also, all the art is by wabaduga over in the Comic League. Big thanks to him!
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