Character profile

[safeinsilver]

World and character info:

Amika’s world is a mirror image of Europe circa 1810, the dawn of modernity, naturally with a twist: in this world, all people are born spiritually "anchored" in the community of their birth: specifically, at this point of history, in their home country and nation. For most people this bond is only a faint connection, a “sense of place” in the back of one’s mind. But the collective strength of hundreds, thousands and millions pools in some, and these few people are called Guardians.

Guardians draw their powers from a having had formative experience of confidence, strength or faith: something they “trust” in, which becomes their Center. A Center can be a memory, a person, an object, an idea – anything that makes a person feel safe and strong. A Guardian can manifest a variety of usually very specific supernatural abilities, and so long as their Center holds, they endure. If their confidence is somehow broken or undone, however, Guardians become “broken” themselves: wretched and mad, worse than dead.

Always a small group, their numbers rising in turmolous times and dropping when all is peaceful, a nation’s Guardians usually serve it in some sort of military and peacekeeping capacity, organized in different ways in different countries. In all countries, however, they are firmly bound to an answer first to the Land’s Own Guardian, the man or woman who acts as the node of all spiritual connections in the country, and has power over the very earth within in. In theory, a Land’s Own has authority only over the other Guardians, but it’s far from unknown for them to meddle in politics and war.

Amika - properly Duchess Amika Stattenholme of Stadtgard - comes from Hyem, a vast, rich country at the bountiful heartland of the continent, where her father is Lord Regent. She was raised in luxury and comfort, sheltered, even coddled, and brought up to be a proper lady: to be the beautiful ornament and warm hearth of her lord husband’s home, to make that home loving and welcoming for the men working hard outside of it. Always gentle, sweet and practical-minded, Amika took to this role naturally and happily. She learned some basics of politics and economics to complement that future role, and due to her own curious and enterprising nature became a patroness of the sciences and arts, presiding over salons and hosting gatherings of explorers.

Her ideal life was disturbed, then shattered when she was sent to secure the allegiance of one of Hyem's province's, the semi-independent Schervo, through a political marriage. Though initially thrilled to finally be given this chance to serve her country, she instead found herself a pawn in a plot to assassinate her husband-to-be cooked up by his own brother along with help from Hyem's ancient enemy, the powerful Northern country Adalas. Despite her best efforts she was unable to do practically anything useful about the situation; but on the flight from Schervo, quite out of nowhere and to the shock of everyone most of all her, Amika found herself manifesting a Guardian's power - without having a Center.

No one could explain this aberration; but an even greater shock was waiting for Amika when she returned to Hyem to find out that her country had been clashing with Adalas along their border for almost three months. A war was practically in progress, and she had not known. Deeply disturbed and disappointed in herself, Amika gave no word of protest when Hyem's Land's Own Guardian - a longtime rival of her father - claimed her for his troops. If a Guardian was what she was meant to be, then a Guardian she will be. It was all she could do.


Character abilities:

Amika's power manifests as a full-plate suit of armor that appears to be made of bright and faintly warm silvery light. It seems to have no seams or hinges but encases her entire body as a single unit, showing no weak spots. She can summon and dismiss it at will, and maintain it indefinitely without effort, though it dissipates when she sleeps or loses consciousness.

The armor is impervious to any and all attacks, full stop: physical, psychic, magical, it's all the same. Similarly it resists extremes of temperature. It doesn't enhance her strength, but its invulnerability means that even the strongest materials might break on it if swung at it with sufficient force. Its one weakness is that even inside it, Amika still needs to breath: it doesn't filter smoke or gas, nor will it save her from drowning (though of course she can't be strangled while in it). In theory, this is its only weak point, no exceptions; in practice, if you think your character can counter it in some other way, drop a note! We'll talk.