InsaneJournal

[ 000 ] mirael's sheet.

Character Information

Character Name(s): Mirael Gazardiel - elvin name

Nicknames/Aliases: Miranda "Mira" Gardener - official UK records/birth certificate/passport

Gender: Female

Race: Elf

DOB: August 7, 1991

Physical Description: Mira is sylphlike and slender, standing at 5'6" and weighing in at a slight 107 lbs; darkheaded and dark-eyed. Though cursory inspection hides her pointed ears due to the natural illusions surrounding her appearance, there is something not quite human about her eyes, which are wide and shaped like almonds set perhaps a hair too far apart. Mira likes soft, comfortable fabrics, particularly woven or knit instead of synthetic; favors gemstone and stone accessories; and dresses in a style that is unquestionably bohemian. Though she does not give off any impression of real physical strength, she is deceptively quick and moves with a grace which comes naturally to all of her race; at times, it seems she walks on the air.

Distinguishing marks: Pointed ears; generally these are hidden by illusion.

PB: Lily Aldridge

Birth Location: England's Lake District; the nearest town is Windermere. There is a huge, forty mile lake nearby; the entire district is mountaneous and full of rivers and lakes. Mira's family legitimately owns several hundred acres in this district; on that land sits Gardener Hall, the manor which has been passed through her family over the centuries -- however, this is largely a formality; the vast majority of the Gazardiel community lives in the wooded area surrounding this home, their community hidden by a magic which all of the elves work together to weave. It is very beautiful country -- and the clan of elves remaining in this area numbers nearly thirty strong.

Personality: Mira is inclined to see the good in everyone -- or rather, to wish for it. She is not simply content to shrug off the faults of those who fall short of her expectations, but hopes to improve the overall quality of their lives. For this, which is genuine, she makes friends easily, even though her standards are high. As she is yet quite young for an elf, her sincerity and belief in the good of others is often regarded by her peers as foolishness, but Mira regards it as one of the most important traits she has. Her goodwill is not to be mistaken for naivete or stupidity; still young, she can have a temper, particularly when any given situation strikes her as wrong or unjust. Aesthetically focused, Mirael looks for beauty in all things, and what she does not find she will create instead. Mira does not enjoy being indoors and is most at peace outside, particularly near lakes and rivers, for that most reminds her of the home of her lineage of elves, who have been carefully overseeing the Lake district in England for centuries. Her parents are influential in this area and expectations that she, too, grow to be a leader among her people are high. In short, for all her niceties, she does sometimes make demands -- but rarely anything less than the best of intentions; conscious always of not only what people are but what they could be.

Personal Background: Born at 6:37 in the morning, facing the first rays of dawn, Mirael Gazardiel was almost immediately handed off to a master of divination who carefully studied the girl's stars with little result. "She will either be the star," said the fortune teller, referring to the tarot archetypes making up the major arcana, "or the tower."

For Mirael's parents, who waited until they were several centuries old to have children at all -- the first being Mira's older brother, and some years later, Mirael herself, such a prediction was maddeningly unhelpful but also deeply disturbing. Those elves who practice white magic would be delighted to have a child represented by the star -- but the tower, a card of rebellion, darkness, and upheaval, was not a prospect that either wanted for their daughter. Begging the diviner for more information, the warnings continued: her life would be marked with mediation between the forces of light and darkness, the latter of which she would be particularly susceptible to. She could be a peacemaker; she could be a tyrant. The fortune continued with a warning -- someone who walks such a path is prone to corruption should the elements of shadow prove too overwhelming to overcome with offerings of peace. The child, she added, had enormous potential -- but her destiny was wound with plenty of opportunities for crossed stars, fraught with personal challenges to overcome. Given the tradition of this particular group of elves the fortune proved problematic -- Mirael's older brother, whom she refers to by the nickname Ana, is to follow in his father's footsteps as their leader and that is all well and good -- but typically a second in command role is applied to the next closest heir; this person has always studied other races and magics outside of the realm of Gazardiel influence. The prediction was not one that boded well for Mirael's traditional role: she is to be a diplomat, a peacemaker, a student of the talents and agendas of other races. And yet, if her parents sent her away (as most before her were) for this type of education, exposure to negative energies could potentially turn her away from the white magic her family practices.

For this reason, Mira's parents specifically focused on her training at a young age, doing their best to shape her natural abilities into ones that would ultimately serve for her own protection: both shielding and purification magics seek to eliminate or prevent negative influence. Her studies in swordplay only subtly emphasized their attempts to equip their daughter with a way to defend herself but also to be grounded to a set of practices which provide emotional release. She was essentially homeschooled in the aspects of human culture surrounding Windermere; thus, has a basic understanding of the British school system, subjects taught, culture, and technology; basic being perhaps an overstatement -- none of those things caught Mirael's attention, with the exception of music; upon hearing a piano for the first time she insisted on lessons and took them at Gardener Hall from a private tutor.

The tactics of Mirael's parents were sound in principle, but often the best laid plans prove difficult to place into practice; Mira was no different. An explorer at heart, she often got in trouble for wandering by herself -- exploring the vast natural resources the lake district had to present, and often alone. On one such occasion, at age eleven, she went missing for nearly three days -- discovered on the third day in the company of a vampire. Mira's parents insisted on the immediate capture of the interloper. He had not laid a hand to the girl within those three days and they released him, but the damage was done -- the visitor had opened Mira's eyes to a world beyond the lakes, full of fantastic creatures and magical beings, not all of whom were approved of by her flawless parents.

Curiosity killed the cat: her questions at that point were endless, and the older she grew the more Mira began to insist that being sheltered in the forest would not protect her forever. She disappeared for days at a time, going as far as to sneak into Windermere. One such evening Mira had the misfortune of attempting to learn about cinema, stumbling into a horror film which she could not force herself to turn away from -- but so terrified the girl that when her brother found her back in the countryside two days later she still wasn't speaking. When she did, she argued that such protective instincts was counterproductive to her role within the Lake District -- she had no defenses against that kind of shock, which made it all the more effective. Nor would it help the cause of the elves; she could never protect the park from the inside; she would never serve her brother in the way those before them had.

"How can I protect anything without knowing my enemies; how can I defend without forseeing my threats?" She argued.

"You are particularly susceptible to evil, Mira. Dark magic will weaken you."

"All the more reason for me to be of the world, where I can learn to see it coming."

Mirael never really won the argument; but upon asking the fortune teller who had first given the ominous warning about her life both parents realized that continuing to restrict their headstrong daughter in such a way would probably result in her running away from Windermere entirely -- an outcome which surely would push her further from the path they hoped she would come, in time, to achieve. So away Mira was sent -- after a year to prepare herself for the basic stylings of a place such as Halcyon, both parents agreed to send her to the school, feeling that at least her encounters there with dark magics, demons, and the undead would be on the terms of a well-trained faculty in a controlled environment. Mirael's uncle -- her father's younger brother -- experienced the same sort of education there almost a century before as he adapted into his own advisory role; he could speak for the school.

And so it was -- Miranda "Mira" Gardener walked down a long dock, onto a boat, and enrolled in a school without a single friendly face.

Mirael is brave; the question will always be if she's brave enough.

Family: Parents (Ramuirel "Ramu" & Sarielen "Sari"; one brother ("Ana"), and the other elves of the lake district area, most of whom Mira is related to by blood.

Weaknesses: Mirael is far from technology adept, preferring old fashioned methods of communication like notebooks to electronic storage. However, photographs have captured her attention and for this reason cameras are largely exempt from her dislike of technology. When forced to use a cell phone she will often choose to walk to find the person she's speaking to unless such a thing is impossible; however, she rarely makes use of technology. Like so many of her kindred, Mira is particularly sensitive to dark magic, which often makes her feel faint and weak.

Early in her exposure to human technologies she was shown a scary movie and remains to this day terrified of horror films; additionally, a strong dislike of enclosed spaces means she barely tolerates cars, and planes are an absolutely terrifying prospect.

Personally, she is inclined to be far too trusting; she does not like to see those around her hurt; and she will always sacrifice herself in the service of needs that aren't her own. Mirael does not look out for number one, even when she desperately needs to.

Magical Abilities:

White Magic: Shielding -- sliding scale as follows:

10 foot radius -- 5 minutes
9 foot radius -- 7 minutes
8 foot radius -- 9 minutes
7 foot radius -- 11 minutes
6 foot radius -- 13 minutes
5 foot radius -- 15 minutes
4 foot radius -- 17 minutes
3 foot radius -- 19 minutes
2 foot radius -- 21 minutes
1 foot radius -- 23 minutes
herself only -- 30 minutes

White Magic: Purification [hexes/poisons/curses] -- to others only; she has not learned how to purify herself; this is obviously at a low-level for those poisons and curses at a low dosage or moderate level.

Mirael has studied white magic with her father, Ramuirel, since childhood; with the other elves of her community she studied both swordplay and archery, taking much more to the former than the latter -- lacking the particular breed of patience which archery requires. Mira's father is particularly talented with shielding; she learned purification from her mother. The latter, however, is an effort which often is very draining on Mira, who tends to overextend herself when it comes to the practice of her magics. She hopes to refine her purification skill at Halcyon and perhaps expand its effects into actual blessing of objects; whether or not this will be possible for her remains to be seen -- as any progress will take years.

A talented fencer, Mira has mastered English fencing blades, the foil, epee, and saber. In recent years she's looked into other blades, and most recently has advanced her study into the swordplay involved in the tranquil art of tai chi. Still a student, the straight sword of this art -- the jian/jien/chien is becoming one of her favorites for its grace and elegance. After this she favors the saber. When practicing swordplay her choice of weapon is frequently an excellent indicator of her mood.

She has studied piano privately since the age of seven; it is her favorite instrument.

House: Terrene

Start Date at Halcyon: July 2007

Classes:

Early Morning: None
Mid Morning: Magic Use: Energy, Light, Life
Late Morning: Music: String Instruments [pianist]
Mid Afternoon: Blades: Swords
Afternoon: Supernatural races: fact and fiction
Early Night: Astronomy
After School Clubs: Fencing; Music

Teaches: N/A

Job: N/A

AIM Name: sonatainm [mun's is symphonicrev]

Rooming with: Alone for now! Roommate welcome :]

Sample Post:

The channel was covered over in fog, the silken strands of pre-dawn mist covering the cove, the silence before sunrise unshattered by the elves walking with one of their youngest to meet a boat sure to ship her far away. Beneath their feet were no footprints in the grass; between them all, no words were said. Mirael's cloak was getting wet at the ends from the dew that still clung to the reeds at such an hour; finally, before them, grass gave way to a long, empty pier.

She stood there for some time, at the edge of the dock -- and turned without words, coming first to her father, who placed both of his hands on her shoulders where the weight of leadership lay; communicating without words the power of his care and his protection. Released, she turned to her mother, who wrapped her up in slender, pale arms, the warmth of which spoke of safety and affection. Finally she turned to her brother, who put both hands on either side of her face and tilted his forehead against his own.

You take care of yourself, Mira, you hear me? You take care.

Eyes closed she made him a thousand promises of her safety, and felt the hands of her parents come down again -- one on each sibling, carving their own fates on separate paths. Mirael Gazardiel stood there until the first rays of dawn began threatening to burn through the mist which shrouded them in secrecy, security, and safety -- and then she slipped away; tugging a single trunk and one bag down the dock to the boat that waited to take her away.

Onboard she watched them through the mist until they were so far that even elven eyes could no longer make out the three figures at the coast. Running her fingers over a well-worn, woven wristband in a series of complicated knots and braids made up by her brother when they were both still children, Mirael kept her eyes towards home until they were hours underway.

Only when the sun was overhead and burning into her shoulders through the emerald green of her cloak did she turn from the rail of the deck and put her eyes to where they were going, instead of whence they'd come. Halcyon.

From this direction a fresh breeze blew off of the sea, carrying with it novelty and promise; as the winds did what they would with the lengths of her hair, she smiled. It was one thing to stand aft and look back with watery eyes for the forests that hummed with home; it was another to put one foot in front of the other with eyes towards her future.

Halcyon.