Marcia

Marcia

Biographical information

Birthplace Viret Born Died Age 16 Home Sexuality Pronouns

Physical description

Race Human Sub-Race Gender Female Height 5' 0" Mass 112lbs Hair color Brown Eye color Brown Skin color White

Political information

Affiliation(s) Occupation Clan(s) Caste Domain Masters Apprentices Alias(es)

Out-of-character information

Writer Louise Created on 14/11/2024 Avatar Midjourney AI

Short. Sullen. Surprisingly strong.

Has clearly used her own face as a shield in sparring sessions.

Gets her threads from the Academy hand-me-downs because it's hard to find clothes that small.

Throwable.

Don't you fucking dare.

On the surface, Marcia is a very unpleasant young woman. She’s gruff, standoffish, impatient and quick to anger. A loner by nature, she could count the number of friends within the Academy on the one hand, a byproduct of spending a significant amount of time staring at her reflection to hone her ability (and violence, a lot of violence).

However, take the time to scratch the surface and look a little deeper, and you will find that Marcia isn’t a bad person. She isn’t actively cruel, as some might perceive her to be, but instead, she is easily wound up and incredibly reactive. Any cruelty on her part is often retributive. At her core, Marcia, when she actually manages to make a friend, is a fiercely loyal girl ready to fight with that same fury she reserves for her enemies.

As an initiate, she actually takes her training very seriously and seeks improvement where she can. She might not appreciate criticism but will take it on board from the mouths of Proctors, less so from her peers.

• Reflection Magic

Marcia’s unique magical talent revolves around manipulating reflections, chiefly her own. While maintaining eye contact with a reflective surface, she can control her reflection within a short boundary. The reflection of herself can interact with living things in the real world but cannot be touched by them through conventional means. Mundane items, however, are not affected in reality. For example, Marcia’s reflection could pick up a sword and stab a foe in the reflection, wounding them in the real world, but the sword would remain in place there.

There are quite a few theories for this. One is that Marcia is soul-splitting through a reflection and, as such, can harm other souls within them. Another more outlandish theory is that reflections are not so mundane but, in fact, a mirror realm that she can access.

While there are many uses for such a skill, particularly in battle and covert assassination, it is also easily countered. She requires steady eye contact with a reflective surface, so she is rendered entirely useless in the dark. Even a simple blindfold could stop her from using her power.

Marcia used to have to stay entirely still to concentrate on manipulating her reflection, but over her time in the Academy, she has learned how to move both bodies at once, although it certainly hampers her having to keep her eyes focused in one place while she does so, and even now she finds it taxing to do so.

She has begun to try manipulating multiple instances of her reflection but has found the experience incredibly overwhelming and painful, even causing her to pass out. Now and again, she wonders if she could control the reflections of others…

• Shieldplay

Dependant on shiny surfaces to use her magic, Marcia’s weapon of choice is a large metal buckler that is polished to perfection. Not only does it help her maintain eye contact with the mirrored world, but it also protects her while she does so and prevents people from simply standing in front of her focal point to interrupt her focus.

She is well-versed in using her shield, and while some find it funny to hear that such an aggressive girl wields such a defensive weapon, they find it less amusing when they gaze upon the small spikes covering the side facing them, which she will, and has bashed into faces without mercy.

• Knives

Quick and easy for the kill, especially when wielded by her reflection, and anyway, who at the Academy isn’t good with a knife? They should probably take a good long look in the mirror.

Marcia does not recall much of her childhood, including stories of her hometown and parents. Whether or not there was some tragic sob story is irrelevant, as she cannot mourn what she cannot remember, and it’s pointless to think about it.

She has been at the Academy since age two and has largely had the standard experience that all Initiates do: getting an education and exploring her magical talents. Even as a child she was a small bundle of rage, with nobody ever being able to pinpoint why exactly the girl was so angry. When it was swiftly realised that she would not be disciplined out of her rage, it was decided that it would be honed in combat when she came of age.

It was hardly good for her popularity as an eight-year-old. Her propensity for fists and fury made her a fearsome foe in the early days of combat training. Nobody liked to get beat up by the angry kid.

Unfortunately, as time passed, her peers grew much taller, and she stopped growing after a brief spurt, which invoked a lot of revenge beatings as her peers outgrew and outmuscled her. It wasn’t that Marcia was more inept than the other Initiates in combat or that she didn’t train her strength as much. She still punched like a small cannon. But a short reach was no good against the boys and girls that towered over her, who had learned that grappling was the best strategy to put her down.

She was undeterred (albeit still incredibly prickly about her short stature) and chose to adapt, focusing instead on her reflection magic. This allowed her to hit from much further away and take down sparring opponents without them even getting close.

As far as Initiate standards went, Marcia was one to impress, surprisingly studious given her demeanour. The only mark against her was her tendency to not work well with others and get in unsanctioned skirmishes with those she intensely disliked. At least she held the self-awareness to begrudgingly realise that she would have to improve these aspects to be more well-rounded.

At present, she is still working on her teamwork skills and hating every moment.