Eleanor Griffin
Appearance
At one time Eleanor would have been considered rather unremarkable in her appearance. Now, through her service to Bastallen she is almost unrecognizable from the girl she once was. Her hazel eye's are now white, and carry a cold weight to them [1] and her once brown hair has turned white despite her youthful complexion.[2] She usually wears her hair back in a loose ponytail. Two brands mark the backs of her hands, the symbols for life and death, and the black mark of Bastellen rests on the back of her neck. [3] It is more difficult to see against her pale skin but the same mark adorns her hands in white and a strange runic script runs up both her arms fading into her skin around her elbows.
Skills and Abilities
Eleanor is well educated. She has a wealth of book knowledge and is well versed in history, literature, mathematics, and music. She can play the piano and zither. She also speaks both the trade language and two other of the more common human dialects. She gained a cursory knowledge of magic and magic theory from her teacher Madame Valkery. Her teacher taught her both general magic theory and also Aura magic (Aura magic draws its power from the emotional and spiritual resonance residues left behind on objects). Later Eleanor gained a much deeper understanding of magic from studying the tomes found in the lost library of the cult of Bastellen. Eleanor sees magic as being much like music and math, one must pluck the right strings of the universe to create a harmonious flow of energy to the desired purpose of the caster.
At first her understanding of theory was better than her practical application of magic. Valkery made a point of ensuring she had a strong foundation. She also enforced the practice of non-verbal casting, something that most beginning casters could not grasp. She said that if one could cast a spell non-verbally they would be able to understand it inside and out, and once mastered they would have much more control and flexibility. She also stressed the importance of breaking down the spell into its smallest units and only using the smallest amount of magic necessary to cast the spell. This application of Aura magic makes Eleanor very good at mana conservation.
She can read the auras of others and detect the resonance frequency of objects. She can even sense the residue of one's aura on things they have touched in the last 24 hours.
She can manipulate auras, collecting the residue from objects and transforming the resonance of the aura to another which can change the nature of the object entirely. However, this is very difficult to do, has a high risk of failure, and burns a lot of energy so is nearly impossible on a large scale without sourcing aura from living beings. It is possible for her to collect aura from a living being. However, this comes at a high cost to herself, it turns her hair white and causes physical exhaustion and internal bleeding. If too much aura is collected there is also the possibility of overloading the individual causing anything from a migraine to full on loss of consciousness.
She can neutralize the effects of most poisons and substances by changing their resonance frequency to match her heart beat, so long as they are slow acting enough. She is also familiar enough with a particular sleeping poison that she can also create this substance in another's bloodstream. [4]
She can easily do simple things like create a spark or put out a candle and these skills can be combined or manipulated to create new effects.
As the Void Forger of Bastellen she has access to all the abilities of a priestess of Bastellen and beyond. [5] Unlike other priestesses she does not require the use of a book to use void aura.
The long dark: She is able to control a type of dark void energy. It drains energy from souls and life energy to feed its power, able to act almost like a liquid it can form whips, tentacles, pointed spears and even a thick dome-like shield if needed. Basically the more souls she collects and the more living energy around her she allows it to consume the more powerful it becomes.
Healing magic: She can perform most common healing spells for flesh wounds, light injuries, and some poisons, but for serious illnesses, high tier poisons or deadly injuries, a living thing is required. The worse the injury the larger the animal up to requiring human sacrifice if the person is close to death. She often uses this healing magic to heal herself from injuries sustained in combat or from the cost of casting spells.
Necromancy: She can speak with spirits of any willing, but they must linger. Any spirits that pass into an afterlife are not reachable. She requires the blood and hair of the individual to be reached and requires her to cut her left hand and sacrifice her own blood as well. The longer the summoning the more her wound will bleed into the circle.
Aura of Fear and Decay: Those around her feel unease and deep seeded dread for a few moments after entering her AOE.
Spirit Walk: By allowing her god to take control of her body she can fight much better but her mortal body can only handle it for short amount of time anywhere from a minute to an hour at most, and when done she loses consciousness with no vital signs for up to 3 days, depending on how long she uses it.
Time of prayer: after prayer, she gains a good bit of vitality depending on how long her prayer is and the amount of ritual sacrifices for her deity
Void Forger: With a large enough sacrifice she is able to bind the void to an object enchanting it and allowing it to serve as a bridge between the void and Arethil. However, the object itself has to be fashioned of a high quality or else the enchantment would destroy it. She can also renew old enchantments.
The secrets of the Void: Out of all the sisters of the order, her conection to the void is the strongest. She understands the void better than any of them, except for Maywynn. This understanding allows her to over power void controlled by others, to prevent it's manifestation, alter it's moments etc.
The Voice of Bastellen: As void forger, she has a very strong connection to the void, she is able to communicate with Bastellen easily where others would struggle or only hear whispers or disjointed phrases. On top of this she can command the whispers that all sisters of the order hear to convey messages to members of the order.
Armor of the Abyss: She can use the void to form plate armor around her body.
She has also found a way to combine her aura magic with the void magic of Bastellen. The void that she controls functions as a strong distillation of dark aura. It is collected by taking the aura's of others at the moment of death. She is also able to push herself way past her limits using the dark aura to heal herself continuously.
At first her understanding of theory was better than her practical application of magic. Valkery made a point of ensuring she had a strong foundation. She also enforced the practice of non-verbal casting, something that most beginning casters could not grasp. She said that if one could cast a spell non-verbally they would be able to understand it inside and out, and once mastered they would have much more control and flexibility. She also stressed the importance of breaking down the spell into its smallest units and only using the smallest amount of magic necessary to cast the spell. This application of Aura magic makes Eleanor very good at mana conservation.
She can read the auras of others and detect the resonance frequency of objects. She can even sense the residue of one's aura on things they have touched in the last 24 hours.
She can manipulate auras, collecting the residue from objects and transforming the resonance of the aura to another which can change the nature of the object entirely. However, this is very difficult to do, has a high risk of failure, and burns a lot of energy so is nearly impossible on a large scale without sourcing aura from living beings. It is possible for her to collect aura from a living being. However, this comes at a high cost to herself, it turns her hair white and causes physical exhaustion and internal bleeding. If too much aura is collected there is also the possibility of overloading the individual causing anything from a migraine to full on loss of consciousness.
She can neutralize the effects of most poisons and substances by changing their resonance frequency to match her heart beat, so long as they are slow acting enough. She is also familiar enough with a particular sleeping poison that she can also create this substance in another's bloodstream. [4]
She can easily do simple things like create a spark or put out a candle and these skills can be combined or manipulated to create new effects.
As the Void Forger of Bastellen she has access to all the abilities of a priestess of Bastellen and beyond. [5] Unlike other priestesses she does not require the use of a book to use void aura.
The long dark: She is able to control a type of dark void energy. It drains energy from souls and life energy to feed its power, able to act almost like a liquid it can form whips, tentacles, pointed spears and even a thick dome-like shield if needed. Basically the more souls she collects and the more living energy around her she allows it to consume the more powerful it becomes.
Healing magic: She can perform most common healing spells for flesh wounds, light injuries, and some poisons, but for serious illnesses, high tier poisons or deadly injuries, a living thing is required. The worse the injury the larger the animal up to requiring human sacrifice if the person is close to death. She often uses this healing magic to heal herself from injuries sustained in combat or from the cost of casting spells.
Necromancy: She can speak with spirits of any willing, but they must linger. Any spirits that pass into an afterlife are not reachable. She requires the blood and hair of the individual to be reached and requires her to cut her left hand and sacrifice her own blood as well. The longer the summoning the more her wound will bleed into the circle.
Aura of Fear and Decay: Those around her feel unease and deep seeded dread for a few moments after entering her AOE.
Spirit Walk: By allowing her god to take control of her body she can fight much better but her mortal body can only handle it for short amount of time anywhere from a minute to an hour at most, and when done she loses consciousness with no vital signs for up to 3 days, depending on how long she uses it.
Time of prayer: after prayer, she gains a good bit of vitality depending on how long her prayer is and the amount of ritual sacrifices for her deity
Void Forger: With a large enough sacrifice she is able to bind the void to an object enchanting it and allowing it to serve as a bridge between the void and Arethil. However, the object itself has to be fashioned of a high quality or else the enchantment would destroy it. She can also renew old enchantments.
The secrets of the Void: Out of all the sisters of the order, her conection to the void is the strongest. She understands the void better than any of them, except for Maywynn. This understanding allows her to over power void controlled by others, to prevent it's manifestation, alter it's moments etc.
The Voice of Bastellen: As void forger, she has a very strong connection to the void, she is able to communicate with Bastellen easily where others would struggle or only hear whispers or disjointed phrases. On top of this she can command the whispers that all sisters of the order hear to convey messages to members of the order.
Armor of the Abyss: She can use the void to form plate armor around her body.
She has also found a way to combine her aura magic with the void magic of Bastellen. The void that she controls functions as a strong distillation of dark aura. It is collected by taking the aura's of others at the moment of death. She is also able to push herself way past her limits using the dark aura to heal herself continuously.
Personality
She has grown somber over time. She is no longer the grief-stricken fragile girl she once was. Now she carries herself with an aura of calm confidence, and cold certainty. She caries a nostalgic sorrow in her heart but she also understands her duty. She follows her master's orders without reservation. She isolates herself from the world, and unless one is a member of her cult or a target she will usually ignore them. She still has a big heart and feels sympathy for the weak and downtrodden. She does her best to help them in little ways when she can but usually, her masters' orders require isolation on her part.
Her brother's death no longer haunts her, and has put it behind her. She has accepted that she is a tool. Though she has had a taste of power and enjoyed it. She will challenge her Master's orders or make her own interpretations of his wishes when she feels it is in the best interest of the order. She no longer wishes to return to who she was before and embraces her role as leader of the Cult. Her expression is often cold and impassive. She can show compassion and kindness but she is also capable of cruelty and manipulation.
Her brother's death no longer haunts her, and has put it behind her. She has accepted that she is a tool. Though she has had a taste of power and enjoyed it. She will challenge her Master's orders or make her own interpretations of his wishes when she feels it is in the best interest of the order. She no longer wishes to return to who she was before and embraces her role as leader of the Cult. Her expression is often cold and impassive. She can show compassion and kindness but she is also capable of cruelty and manipulation.