the Rift




Althea

Unclaimed


 

Species: Unicorn Gender: Filly Age: 1 yr. Height: 14.2 hh
Appearance


INITIAL REF

FLATS

Petite and delicate, like a dancer, Althea seems intent on making herself seem smaller; she is almost threateningly thin and so long-legged that she could almost appear lanky, if it weren’t for the grace with which she presents herself. She seems skittish and flighty with her darting eye, almost perpetually tensed to run, and speaks with a quiet stutter that nearly obscures her deliberate, musical intonation - her voice wears the hallmark of nobility. She could almost be pretty, if she weren’t so insistent on shrinking. As she is, she is merely pitiful.

Though it has dulled as her health has waned, Althea’s coat is primarily painted in hues of brilliant red-gold, the sorrel fading to a peachy off-white down her legs, corresponding neatly with the almost pinkish coloration of her cloven hooves. Bars of cream run rampant on her legs and neck, and a dorsal stripe of the same color runs the length of her spine, plunging into the soft flaxen of her mane and tail. Pale curves of mint green run beneath her eyes, and a few patches of pale green interrupt the red of her forehead, an ovular shape connected by a thin bar to one that is more circular between her eyes. Her eyes were once a lovely, deep teal, but the left is now a glassy blue, blinded by the attack that left the skin around it marred with a patchwork of thin, jagged scars.

A pair of tan, elk-like antlers sprout from her forehead; at their darkest, near the roots, they are almost brown, but, as the color approaches their points, it softens to bone-white. A silver strand of glass beads is tangled haphazardly in her antlers, a dainty remnant of her former nobility. Althea’s flaxen hair is kept pulled into a loose braid in her mane, adjusted to hide her blind eye and tied with a mint-green ribbon. Her tail, in similar fashion, is kept pulled into a bun, allowing for loose strands to tumble out above and below the green ribbon that keeps it together.


Personality
More of a ghost than a living being, the girlish naiveté one might expect from a yearling has been ripped almost entirely from Althea by the fear that seems to occupy her at all times; where one might expect youthful vigor, they will only find frayed nerves and dull apathy, perpetual skittishness fueled primarily by instinct, rather than self-interest. Althea is plagued by survivor’s guilt, and it has developed into a strong sense of loathing and indistinct anger. She has come to view the world as an unbearable and unfair place, holding a good deal of pent-up bitterness and frustration towards practically everything, but her reserved, polite nature tends to hide her pessimistic outlook. Althea is very good at seeming a pleasant, if shy, girl, but she is quick to anger and quick to hold a grudge – it just doesn’t show on her face. Despite her temper, she is genuinely kind at heart and extremely self-sacrificing. While this is partially goodwill on her part, her seeming insistence on throwing herself into painful situations – physical or otherwise – on behalf of others, whether they care for her or not, also stems both from her desperate desire for a sense of purpose and her own carelessness in regards to her own life and happiness. Attempting to move forward would chance putting her even further back.

Althea is incredibly insecure and worries constantly about her appearance; insults are crushing and compliments garner no reaction, except a hint of disbelief and the implication that the giver is lying. She is meticulous in hiding her blind eye, and, if she could, she would hide her antlers. On more than one occasion, she has considered attempting to break them off, or asking someone else to do it for her. Althea speaks very formally out of habit, and it serves a dual purpose – she already appears detached and disinterested, and, by never letting her guard down, she tends to keep others at arm’s length. She is terrified of getting attached, and, if she never gives anyone else the opening, she knows that she won’t find herself hurt in the end. That being said, she is very empathetic, and, in reality, finds herself caring for others all too quickly. Althea is very good at lying to herself, and she’s equally capable of self-sabotage. If someone else will not burn a bridge for her, she will go to hell and back to burn it down herself.

Despite her paranoia and flightiness, Althea is a highly intelligent girl. She is an exceptionally quick learner with a good memory, and she is extremely perceptive, capable of reading and dissecting situations and activities with ease. Althea tends to play the fool, but, in reality, she is very calculating and manipulative, albeit unintentionally so. She was raised a princess, and, despite her attempts to distance herself from her royal upbringing, she maintains the poise and cunning you’d expect of one.


History
OFF-SITE

Althea has no memories of her birth parents. Born antlered, a rarity in her homelands, she was considered a child of the Horned God, a malevolent trickster that brought death and destruction wherever he wandered - a fickle, brutal creature. Her mother tried to get rid of her; it seems that she did not have the heart to do it herself, so she simply left the girl in the woods and never looked back. It just so happened that the king of the lands was wandering through the forest with a party of his guards, one of whom happened upon the wailing girl. The king had never been able to have a child of his own, and, saying that her antlers reminded him of someone he knew many years ago, took her in as his own daughter.

The first few months of Althea’s life were saccharine. She was never allowed outside of the palace, but she didn’t mind; she could spend all of the time that she wanted wandering among the gardens, learning from the healers and herbalists, or chatting with the various individuals who came from faraway nations to speak with her father, who she adored more than absolutely anything. Althea idolized her father. He would tell her of the kingdom and his duty as a king to protect it, and she treated him as the epitome of what a ruler should be – strong, intelligent, and kind. He told her that one day, the kingdom would be hers.

During this time, her closest – and only – friend was a colt that was a few months older than she, Hazel. Hazel was an apprentice guard, and, as the only being in the palace that was close to her own age and willing to approach the princess, he quickly gained her adoration. Hazel was sarcastic and rough around the edges, but Althea was fond of him nonetheless; her sweetness balanced out his temper. After ten months in the palace, she grew curious about the outside world and became restless. Hazel, she knew, lived outside, and she begged him to take her out. He agreed. At the time, she was grateful that he was so quick to take her up on it. In hindsight, she simply feels ill.

She found the world outside of the palace impoverished and broken, war-torn and plagued by famine and disease. The noble guards that had always protected her were brutal and violent. The beautiful kingdom that had always been described to her did not exist; her father had lied to her. Hazel said that he was a madman who’d killed thousands of his own and holed himself up in the palace. Betrayed and miserable, she asked Hazel to run away with her, and that was when he turned on her. She found herself thrown to the ground. He told her that he’d cut off those horns of her and send them to her father, then kill her to send the Horned God far, far away – he was the cause of all this, after all. Althea begged him, asked him if he’d ever cared, if he was always planning to kill her like this. When he didn’t reply, she simply gave in; if he wanted to kill her, so be it.

The guards burst in at the last moment, barely able to prevent Hazel from slaughtering the girl. She pleaded with them to spare his life, but they killed him in front of her – his blood splashed on her, and she felt like she couldn’t get it off for days. They marched the princess home to her furious father. In his anger, he struck her with his magic, permanently blinding Althea in her left eye; she still remembers the horror in his eyes when he realized what he had done. He sent the girl away, confining her in the far side of the palace and isolating her completely. Servants brought her food and water, but they were not to speak with her lest they wanted to be executed. Althea grew sick and small, a bit more apathy creeping in each day. She wondered if she would ever be allowed outside again, if she’d ever see the sun again, if she’d ever speak again.

Two months later, rebels attacked the palace; they destroyed the beautiful gardens and great marble pillars and left a trail of bodies in their wake. In the chaos, Althea managed to escape her quarters, but she was cornered by a group of rebels. It was only her father’s intervention that saved her, at the cost of his own life. He shielded her from the magic of her attackers and used what remained of his own magic to send her somewhere far, far away. The last she recalls of her home is the sight of her father impaled through the chest with a spear of ice, juxtaposed against the palace, consumed by flames. She wanted to feel something, but she didn’t, and that scared her more than anything else.

When she awoke, covered in scrapes and bruises, she was somewhere very, very different.


ON-SITE ::
fault lines - Althea awakens in Helovia, after her tumble from another world.


Other
- someday, I'll bother to code this profile. Someday...
- Althea speaks English & French with relatively equal levels of proficiency.


Played by
Played by Nina!


Assets
Items
:: [ Item: Beads | Strand of glass beads tangled around antlers. ]
Battle Statistics
STR:    SPD:    AGL:    END:   
OI:    DI:    MG:    CP:   
ATK DEF DAM HP
BUFF: VP:
Notable Accomplishments


*** this class will eventually become admin controlled, so don't spend too much time styling it. We will put your character's achievements here. Ie, getting a new buff, earning a herd rank, leading a herd, SWP participation, etc.

Threadlog
1 thread
Subject Location Participants Last Post[ Order By ]
fault lines {AW} Helovia's Threshold
Althea, Yael, Tilney
03-11-2017 by Tilney

Althea's Forum Info
Joined: 02-05-2017
Last Visit: 03-06-2017, 07:24 PM
Total Posts: 3 (0 posts per day | 0 percent of total posts)
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Total Threads: 1 (0 threads per day | 0.01 percent of total threads)
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Time Spent Online: 23 Hours, 43 Minutes, 26 Seconds
  
Additional Info for Nina
OOC Name: Nina
Thread Tracker:
Wishlist:
Plotting Thread:
Date of Birth: 02-11-1999 (25 years old)


Althea's Signature

Feel free to use magic on/hurt Althea, just don't kill her.


  


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