Ivonne Albrecht
From Tehwiki
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(→Part V: Finding Love in Other Places) |
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===Part V: Finding Love in Other Places=== | ===Part V: Finding Love in Other Places=== | ||
| + | Gerhard seemed immersed in his job; sometimes she felt that he loved it more than he loved her. This irritated her, but she did not address it, though one day she met a man, and one thing led to another, the two ending up where Ivonne should not have been. Later, it was announced that she was having yet another child. She was given maternity leave from the Magierschutz, and spent the time that she had taking care of herself, the house, and of course researching. She was worried, though, that the child was not Gerhard’s, but the man she had had a one-night stand with. She hadn't told Gerhard about it. He simply wouldn't understand, and he'd probably end up divorcing her for her adultery. No-one found out, and Ivonne made herself forget it. In addition, she continued to wonder about laguz, and about whether the rebel cause was just... | ||
Current revision as of 14:01, 15 January 2010
Contents |
[edit] Appearance
In body, Ivonne isn’t what you’d expect from a mage, and most certainly not from a female. She has the brazen look of a warrior, a scar on her left cheek adding to this. her sandy brown hair falling to her shoulders but generally being tied back. Couple with a slender physique with a fair amount of muscle and a nearly flat chest, she could pass herself as a male if she had the desire. Her hair is normally tidy, the bangs parted so that they do not get into her eyes while she is casting. She allows a few strands to fall to her forehead, long as they are not a distraction. Her eyes are a vibrant seagreen, and reveal a demeanor of intelligence and toughness.
Ivonne prefers the typical clothing of a spellcaster on average days, even around the house. She wears a light gray tunic with a red cloth attached over it, and a green cloth belt tied around this. While the red piece extends downwards, stopping at her thighs, the tunic stops right above her pelvic area, and she wears a pair of dark gray trousers, which generally gather around tall, lace-up black boots. Over the ensemble, she sometimes wears a black drape, which has a hood that she can pull over her head if need be. Generally when travelling, she carries two packs, one full of supplies hanging from her hip, and the other is a backpack of easily-accessed tomes. When it’s cold, a simple hoodless black cloak will suffice. She will wear simple leather armour if necessary.
[edit] Personality
Ivonne has an insatiable desire to learn new things. To her, knowledge is power, and power is everything. She doesn’t like to sugarcoat anything, however, preferring to be to the point and blunt in how she speaks, and she can be rather forceful if need be. While she is a very talented magician, Ivonne lacks social prowess. People are, and always will be, odd to her. While she loves meeting new people, there is a part of her that fears it. She prefers to keep that part to herself. She loves her husband and her children, but sometimes considers them a burden, though Paul is and always will be her favourite and sometimes she can’t help but spoil him. Raising a family, carrying a child, and spending every moment her husband has free though is constricting to her, and she yearns for more freedom.
She has never been one to care for all the laguz hatred going around, and all of this incessant praise of Tomislav. While she is grateful for the king pulling them out of the dreaded Dietbrande era, she can see that, between him and the rebels, Daein is being ripped apart. Ivonne has had an urge to join the Resistance at times, but isn’t sure whether she is ready to commit herself to that, and certainly doesn’t wish to endanger her family. In addition, she just isn’t sure who she supports. Being a scholar and having read all kinds of books about all kinds of things, Ivonne does not discriminate by race, viewing all races with indifference. You are who you make of yourself, to her. Of course, none of these sentiments are shared with her husband, a loyalist who would go ballistic if he knew what his wife were thinking.
Ivonne can be perceived as quiet most of the time, though when she does speak her opinion on things, she’s speaking her mind with great enthusiasm. While she may seem aloof, she’s extremely sensitive to others and their tone of voice. Ivonne never likes being talked angrily to, but in socialising throughout her life, she has learned to deal with it. There is one thing she despises, however, and those are stinging insects. She’d much rather they burn and sometimes, when they get near her, she makes true this statement with a little fire spell. She loves all schools of anima, and is always yearning to improve her abilities.
Ivonne is organised in most everything she does. She is rarely spontaneous, and prefers a set schedule to an uncertain future. She only plans for the here and now, though, tending not to think about the future because she dislikes how uncertain it is.
[edit] History
[edit] Part I: Birth & Childhood
Ivonne remembers very little of her mother, the daughter of the mayor of Regenstadt, Daein who married a young noble named Carger Grinzheimer. Her name was Jolene, and the fact that she has no memories to draw upon, no mother’s soft touch, will forever haunt her. It may have been Jolene’s spirit that bonded with her daughter, because Jolene was a very accomplished thunder mage – and the brand she had was shaped much like a lightning bolt. But that is merely speculation which didn’t come until much later in Ivonne’s life. Her father treasured her despite the mark, and growing up, she never understood why she couldn’t show it. Then one day, she showed it to a friend. Her father was livid – and afraid – and the two of them moved to Nox. He was well-off, and there was a mansion nobody wanted since its previous owner had died. Father and daughter moved in, enjoying the chance at a discount of sorts, for its sellers really just wanted it sold. Adjusting to a much larger house was interesting for her, to say the least; there were so many places she could explore!
They lived across the street from the Albrechts’, a happy couple that was even more well off than they were, and that was to say quite a bit, since they were all suffering under the Dietbrande, their horrid taxes, and the disgusting subhumans they allowed into the country. Anyway, they had a boy around her age; his name was Gerhard. He didn’t make any attempts to approach Ivonne, though his sisters did. And perhaps it was thanks to them that she learned she had magical talent. They were mages-in-training, and Rosalind especially loved to brag about her magical talent. As for Ivonne, all she had was a stupid mark on her chest that she had to keep hidden. One day, Rosalind pushed too far. The next thing she knew, a bolt fell down from the sky, and Rosalind jumped out of the way as it rammed into the ground, causing a small crater. Her eyes widening at the power, she ran away scared, as Ivonne stared at the crater. “I...I did that...?” she asked herself, yet she knew it was true.
She expected she would be grounded, but she was not. Instead, her father spoke with Degra, and both girls were to apologise. Degra agreed to personally tutor the girl in the ways of magic, now that she had shown she had potential. He gave her a basic education in anima and its schools, namely the thunder she had an affinity for, but to become a truly accomplished mage, she would have to attend a magical academy. But that would have to wait until she was older, and in the meantime, she learned a few low-level spells from him, a taste of what was to come. Around that time, Gerhard was being taught to use an axe; sometimes, he liked to show her the things he’d learned. He didn’t want to hear about magic, and she respected that, understanding because of his sisters.
[edit] Part II: Education
In addition, she and Gerhard were now schooling together, and were becoming close friends. When they had free time, the duo would act out scenes from books in the forest, which included great battles and events in history, namely that of Daein, partially because Gerhard’s family cared little about foreigners, due to the fact that what foreigners they met, were mostly the damned subhumans. Ivonne played the mage whenever she could; she was so excited about becoming one. They loved the forest, and what he found odd was that during thunderstorms she’d wander around in there, and stare up at the sky, waiting to see the flash of lightning and hear the resounding sounds of thunder.
It wasn’t long before she was sent off to a private school where they taught magic. Two years before Gerhard began his training in the military, she attended the Gristoff Academy of Magic. It was a very exclusive, and very expensive school, and she had to apply herself a great deal. The building they were taught in was old; it had survived many a harsh Daein winter and was situated near what they believed was a Ley Line. It was here that she truly felt welcome, and eventually, was able to reveal her Spirit Mark to them. They of course knew what a Spirit Charmer was, and she was finally educated on the subject. It was then that she began to believe it had something to do with her mother. It was then that she truly began to look at it more as a blessing than a curse, something of Jolene that Ivonne could truly treasure. But she knew that the gift was also a curse, and unless she wanted to be discriminated against outside of the mages’ school, she would keep it a secret.
Ivonne’s passion for learning manifested itself while she was at the Academy. A world of learning and discovery awaited her, and she wanted to master her craft. Maybe it was the connection to her mother that fueled her passion. Maybe it was the fact that she loved magic, and wanted to become the strongest mage there was. Or maybe it was a mixture of all of these. Regardless, she devoted her time to her studies – of both magic and other subjects they had young prospective mages learning – and it opened her up to a whole new outlook on things. Regardless, however, of the things she learned, she kept her faith in the Goddess. She learned not to judge things, however, before she knew everything she could know about them, and that was how she viewed most everything. This included laguz, which she had prior known as subhumans. It was something she kept to herself. The other pupils already envied – or scorned, depending on their individual thoughts on Spirit Charmers – her for her marking; she didn’t want a further for them to want to antagonise her.
She discovered that, after she’d worked out and grown some muscle, she could carry heavier tomes. However, this of course hampered her ability, and so it wasn’t of much use were she on the battlefield, and seeing as this was Daein, much of the magic she learned she was sure she’d be using in combat. They moved from thunder to ice, then to earth, and when it came to some types of Earth magic, she was glad she’d trained herself physically, as at one point, she summoned a heavy clod of dirt that fell onto her. She also learned how to make plants grow. Her education was nearly complete, and the rest of her training was tying it all together, and learning to use it for both utility and battle. But all of this gave her a thirst for more; she looked into the other types of arts – enchanting of weapons, talisman-making, tome-writing, potion/poison-making, even summoning though the latter she knew would be unable to do with her current skill. She was much too ahead of herself, though she was ambitious, and believed someday, she would become a master of magical arts. Finally, after four years, she graduated a well-rounded and enlightened, but hungry mage. Hungry not for food, but for knowledge.
[edit] Part III: Additional Education
Throughout her school year, she and Gerhard had been corresponding. There were times – holidays – when the families would meet with one another. These warm times gave her time to spend with Gerhard, and despite his distaste for magic, he liked seeing his good friend succeed. One of the most satisfying things was seeing Gerhard’s sisters envious of her talents with thunder magic, and her ability. They were mediocre casters at best – at least, Rosalind was. Emilia rarely revealed her magic to anyone, and was reclusive much of the time. Regardless of the sisters, Gerhard and Ivonne had plenty of time together, and when they didn’t, there was always correspondence by letter. He was growing so strong and disciplined. She found herself quickly falling in love with him. She kissed him at his graduation ceremony, and saw him off once more, forcing herself to believe he would be alright. She too had a job to do; she was now a mage of Daein, and her talents were necessary. Due to her noble status, she was able to avoid all of the fighting between the fledgling lords; her family and that of the Albrechts truly did not want a part of that, and in fact isolated themselves from it all.
But without immersing her in the petty dealings of lords, she didn’t have much to do. She departed for Begnion, her father gladly but worriedly paying for her to attend Sienne University of Magical Arts and fund her education. On the way, she was met by a group of men who wanted to “take her home with them.” She wouldn’t allow this, and fought viciously against them with her lightning magic. A swing of a man’s blade got her on the cheek; she continued to cast, and electrocuted the man. However, they proved too much for her, until a bird came zooming through the air, and knocked the leader to the ground, proceeding to rip him apart. They didn’t stop until all of the men were dead, then the bird shifted into a humanform, retaining his wings. This wasn’t the first laguz she’d encountered, though she hadn’t really spoken with the Hatarians, so it was her first interaction with one. He was very gentlemanly and quite intelligent; she was grateful for his help and offered to pay him but he would only accept enough for food. When he was told she was from Daein, and that she wished to learn more about the ways of the laguz, he told her, and she began to grow more accepting of them. Finally, they parted, and she attended the Sienne Academy.
She would keep that scar for the rest of her life, as a memory of the day she achieved one of her personal quests. She refused to have it healed away, but she also refused to speak of what it truly meant to her. It and the spirit brand were memoirs she could carry with her as long as she lived.
Sienne was incredible. She had seen nothing like it, and quickly, she was becoming overwhelmed by its sheer size. This was understandable, because the places she’d lived in were mostly smaller, especially than this. She found and attended the Academy, and furthered her knowledge of anima, and beyond: she learned herbalism and enchantment as well. She would definitely be of use to Daein – which is why she needed to return after her studies were complete. It wasn’t long after this when Gerhard was given shore leave from his duties. He proposed to her, and she was impressed and enamored; she agreed and they were wed. They tried for a son, and it wasn’t long before Arne was born. She took an apprenticeship under Degra now, enchanting weapons with magical spells. She took odd jobs here and there, so that she could get some combat experience. She was no indoors bookworm.
[edit] Part IV: Family, Reform, and Magierschutz
It wasn’t long before she learned she was carrying a new soul within her; a child. However, thanks to the circumstances surrounding her mother’s death, she grew worried that this child might not have a mother. But she bore Arne in Late Winter of 726, and both mother and son were healthy. She took some time off to raise him, though she still continued her craft, and would sometimes practice against fellow mages so that she could keep sharpening her skills. They were able to make a good deal of money off of the enchantments, though it was Degra that paid for Gerhard’s education at the Shiharam Institute. It was for this reason that he wasn’t present for the birth of their second child, Paul. She was proud of him, regardless; an accomplished and skilled wyvern rider. But this made her even more aware that she needed to hone her abilities. Now that she was no longer pregnant, she once again took odd jobs that needed doing, her husband now able to find some for her. They were the types of things that the Daein military overlooked and thus it was up to the willing to do.
In 741, though, the family was shattered by Arne’s disappearance. Gerhard explained to her what had happened, and she didn’t know what to think. She had already told him of her own mark, and he was accepting of it, having been told by her what it was. They both knew that what Arne had wasn’t, yet they still accepted it. Gerhard, because this was his son they were talking about, and Ivonne because of her scholarly views – in addition to the fact that this was her kin and she knew him. But both of them learned it was for the best, for 742 marked Tomislav Hinzvark’s rise to power. Gerhard absolutely adored the man and his policies; Ivonne disliked them but kept these thoughts to herself. She could tell that her husband wouldn’t listen to her logic as hard as she’d try. And what had happened with Arne had just reinforced that for him.
Regardless, they still loved each other, and the family remained well-off, even when the civil wars started, and Degra’s mind started to leave him, prompting a now-humbled Rosalind to care for him. Paul loved magic, and Ivonne was training him in it, prepping him for the school of magic. When the Magierschutz was formed by Mariele Luitgard, she signed up and her skills were appreciated. She survived a rigorous training routine, and thus was accepted. It was here that she felt like she was doing what was needed; research and spy work, as well as combat when it was necessary. Sometime during her training, her father died, and she mourned her loss, attending his funeral. But he was with his lovely Jolene now. She still believed in the afterlife, even though there was no proof of one existing.
[i]If she is graded as second-tier.[/i] She was fascinated not only with magic’s use in combat, but its use off of the battlefield. Enchanting and herbalism had only fueled even more need for knowledge, and during her training in the Magierschutz, she studied under an experienced Heiligerschutz in how to use staves to aid her allies. Staves proved difficult to her, but that was because she was used to casting from a tome. It was an incredible change from what she was used to, but it came in handy on many occasions once she had mastered its basics. [i]If she is graded as second-tier.[/i]
Still, she couldn’t help but think about the laguz she’d met, and about Daein’s stubborn, one-sided views on them. Once again, it was something she kept to herself, even as she was called upon to combat a duo of rogue red dragons. Where they’d come from, they hadn’t discovered. It was the first time Ivonne encountered a dragon, and she was awed by their strength and power. Her training in the Blitzschultz had taught her a great deal about them, though it only greatened her thirst for more knowledge about these ageless beings that generally isolated themselves in the nation of Goldoa. She would only get to see them in combat, this time, and this was the toughest battle she’d ever had. Fiery breath sprayed upon the mages, who retaliated with blasts of lightning. It was here that Ivonne’s knowledge of the other schools came in handy. She threw up a wall of flame, which flaming dragonbreath hit, and while the dragon was charging up another breath, she and another mage sent two large bolts into the dragon’s stomach, weakening him. The battle raged on until the dragons were felled. Vanessa Peers caught wind of Ivonne’s performance, and personally remarked on how impressed she was – partially because Ivonne was a strong woman with great skill. However, Ivonne could see that Peers was much like Rosalind, though the Dazzling Beauty did indeed have much more skill than Gerhard’s sister.
[edit] Part V: Finding Love in Other Places
Gerhard seemed immersed in his job; sometimes she felt that he loved it more than he loved her. This irritated her, but she did not address it, though one day she met a man, and one thing led to another, the two ending up where Ivonne should not have been. Later, it was announced that she was having yet another child. She was given maternity leave from the Magierschutz, and spent the time that she had taking care of herself, the house, and of course researching. She was worried, though, that the child was not Gerhard’s, but the man she had had a one-night stand with. She hadn't told Gerhard about it. He simply wouldn't understand, and he'd probably end up divorcing her for her adultery. No-one found out, and Ivonne made herself forget it. In addition, she continued to wonder about laguz, and about whether the rebel cause was just...
