WCD#16:

Second Character

Continuing my mini-series. In place of my old Wild Card Day, which involved writing on any topic, I am now pulling cards for my character profiles.

Here I combine two efforts in one. First, to share my writing on this blog; second to complete my primary goal: Book One of my Chaos Chronicles, The Sands of Chaos.

Now for my second character:

Character Card: Sherena Torin

BASIC
Name: Sherena Torin
Nicknames: Sherry (with mom only)
Gender: Female
Race: Human, Shone
Age: 15
Birthplace: Tat
Current Location: Shony School of Magic
Flaws: Has a tendency to speak her mind a little too freely
Strengths: Strong sense of duty to serve a cause once chosen
Accomplishments: Being accepted to Shony School of Magic from a non-magic family
Health: Good health
Literate: Very

PHYSICAL
Build: Thin, bit tall for her age
Height: 5’7”
Weight: 120lbs
Gait: Long, unsure
Posture: Sometimes leans tall and back, other times hunched forward in shoulders
Gestures: Waves her hand in a grand gesture that is almost dismissive, yet soft and abstract
Eye contact: Keeps it and holds it
Hair: Brown, short and curly but often spiked with an illusion spell hairband
Eyes: Blue/hazel
Skin: Fair
Features: A bit freckled on the cheeks

FAMILY/RELATIONSHIPS
(Include age, occupation, location, brief description and relationship)
Parents: Dozar Torin, father, 43, owner Tat Tailors of Refined Taste, Tat, tall but average build, short, black hair, warm smile
Aleeza (Bin) Torin, mother, 39, merchant and tailor Tat Tailors of Refined Taste, Tat, average height and build, elegant, curly blonde hair to neck line
Siblings: None
Extended: uncle Ranna Torin, Dozar’s brother; aunt Peggi, married to Ranna; cousin Peini Torin, daughter of Ranna; grandfather Obedii Bin, father of Aleeza, only living grandparent
Important: 1-Peini Torin was a good friend and at times rival growing up, on fairly good terms in adolescence; 2-fond of Grampa Obedii who dotes on Sherena
Friends: Ba Heeley, 16, goofy, lanky guy friend from Shony School
Indu Opara, 15, transgender friend from Shony School, smart, reserved, observant
Enemies: Razmine, a fellow student of Court Wizard family who picks on her looks and family background
Interest: Has a crush on Leam after meeting him
Advice/Mentor/Support: Sarje Nara, the school head of housekeeping, whom she finds to be wise and far-seeing despite her role on campus (or because of it)
Pets: Two cats, Isha and Nayru
Caste: Upper middle class family

EDUCATION
Focus: Enchanting magic
School: Shony School of Magic
Vocation: Student with goal to enchant garments for parent’s tailoring business
Path to Vocation: At least four years of magic training, more for better mastery of the enchanting needed for her goals
Vocational Skills: Understanding tailoring and fashion, reading runes and preparing reagents and scrolls, using enchanting spells
Money: Parents are wealthy business owners and transmit allowance to her via Magibank
Home: Tat, penthouse above the Tat Tailors of Refined Taste business of her parents
Transportation: Magicar to and from home in Tat, feet, portals and occasional magitaxi in Shony

PSYCHOLOGY
Fears: Working for her parents’ business and in their shadow all her life
Secrets: Wants to travel the seas and leave Tat for good
Regrets: Not helping a hungry stranger on the streets of Tat when she was seven; she remembers seeing him for a few days, then one day he asked for food that she could have spared, but she didn’t; the next day she never saw him again
Anger: Quick to anger when she feels there is injustice or lies
Intelligence: Very intelligent and observant of people and surroundings
Eating: Eats an average, healthy amount, more veggie than meat but enough meat to help nourish
Sleeping: Sleeps well but very lightly
Social: Is friendly and outgoing with peers, not afraid to talk back to adults when she feels wronged
Speech: Casual and well-mannered
Preferred Epithet: “Yites!”
Laughter: Short, hicuppy giggles
Smile: Usually gives a kind, lippy smile unless really moved to show teeth and brighten eyes
Emotive: She is expressive and generally positive
Leader/Follower: Tends towards leadership
Planned/Spontaneous: Likes life plans but day to day spontaneity for fun
Careful/Reckless: Careful about life course but reckless with new things
Optimist/Realist/Pessimist: Optimist while at school, then traveling on the adventure tends towards pessimism
Hobbies: Playing Nine Cards, a card game based on the Nine Magi and the elements
Pet Peeves: Sneezing, coughing, and burping; homelessness and people wronged by societal ills
Obsessions: Precious stones and gems
Desires: To travel the world then open her own line of enchanting for sale
Prejudices: Thinks lawyers are all shiesty people, having seen her family deal with some unpleasant ones in the past
Morality: Strong moral code of treating others fairly
Common Behaviors: Tapping a finger to her chin when she thinks
Typical Mood: Upbeat and willing
As seen by others: Put together, friendly and fun
As seen by self: Imprisoned in a series of life choices decided by others that she is trying to make the best of
Hero: Selene the Enchantress who was famed to create an entire line of enchanted formal wear decades prior that even into the modern day inspires fashion; to honor Selene’s works Shony maintains a house of her best items, while also displaying curtains, tapestries and other furnishings she enchanted within it

RELIGION
Main: Coventry of the Nine
Place: Sanctums in any city where honored, which is most of Paelstor
Beliefs: The Nine Magi created the universe and the world of Paelstor; they are nine eternal beings and truths that maintain all energies and magic in perfect accord and alignment; they keep the forces of Chaos at bay from destroying the fabric of reality
Rituals: Followers honor the Nine each day in prayers to themselves, or attend sanctums to offer blessings to little statuettes of the Magi, seeking to align that part of their life that may be out of tune; often followers tend to choose one Magi over the others that may inspire certain qualities in their life
Requirements: Hold the belief in the Nine Magi as creators of all and that no other god exists or has any power; attend sanctums for prayer and advice; speak kindly of the Magi and not curse them
Boons: The Magi are not said to offer boons or answers to requests, but rather help return balance to energies that are out of alignment in followers’ lives that may be causing trouble; so in a way, the boons are to restore the natural order and balance for individuals, groups and nations
Flaws: They completely denounce the old gods and condemn worshipers of the Temples, seeking to root them out of their towns and nations; sanctums and their attending reverents can seem cold and aloof, the Nine Magi almost too abstract and non-human to relate to
Perceived by world: Most of Paelstor holds faith in the Nine Magi, citing them for saving the world time and again from the threat of Chaos and complete annihilation, so there is little contest to this prevailing religious tradition; the Temples of the Gods, however, where they are practiced, have a long-standing contention with the Coventry of the Nine for being cast out, persecuted, and hated; the Church of Lum also denies any standing that the Nine Magi even exist and discount the entire religion as a political contrivance to control the world

MAGIC
Type: Water primary, fire secondary which she taps into more later
Level: Apprentice, rudimentary illusion and alchemy, beginner restoration and enchanting
Spells: Illusion sound, light, cure wound potion and touch, learning enchanting as she goes
Power: Low with room to grow
Mana: Very low to start

POSSESSIONS
Clothes: Favors refined but practical clothes, shows fashion sense
Bags: A school knapsack
Tools: Textbooks, pencils, etc. for school, wands, crystals, reagents, etc.
Scrolls: Practice scrolls for enchanting and healing
Reagents: A bare minimum required for basic alchemy class
Books: Besides school books her own interest in enchanting and her favorite: “The Life and Times of Selene”
Weapons: If a wand were a weapon, though she has not learned attack spells
Armor: None
Travel equipment: Not required at school

HISTORY
Describe as child: Carefree, a bit reckless, doting of her grandparents but rebellious of her parents
If could change one thing from past: Part of her wishes that she could have had healing magic earlier in life and helped ease the pain of her grandmother Jieny Bin’s passing through illness
Earliest memory: Watching a magician perform tricks in her hometown at age 4
Saddest memory: Losing her beloved grandmother Jieny Bin at age 10
Happiest memory: Seeing the sea for the first time at age 5
Clearest memory: Going to Shony City for the first time at age 12

This character has just been met with by my protagonist as I revise the novel. Now I know her all the better and all the scenes with her will benefit for it.

Stay tuned for more.

Cheers!

What do you think? Is she likeable for a major lead female in the story? Leave a comment for me.

My writing is a gift I am blessed with, and I share it with all,

Matthew