Nyusha

pzu_alts shaman, half-dragon girl.

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Overview:


Height: 5' 4" (162 cm.)

Weight: 122 lb. (55 kg.)

Pronounced: nju-ʃɑ
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Shamanism is an ancient and proud practice, despite its taboo status in many parts of the world. Nyusha is one of the practitioners of this spiritual magic, and uses it in her travels for many different reasons, including travel and combat.


Background:


Nyusha’s father was the long-standing chief of a village extremely remote from any other civilization due to the mountain range that contained them. This agricultural society was, at one time, threatened by dragons with each passing summer. However, Nyusha’s father never knew ire for dragons, as their attacks on the village had stopped many eras ago, though the long-standing resentment towards the dragons never truly dissipated, especially with the tales that were preserved over those ions that were told to children at school. Though, Nyusha’s father could never quite bring himself to hate a race so far removed from his own time period.

However, one summer, Nyusha’s father and a friend of his went out to survey the land for additional agricultural development, interested in the fertility of the mountainous land around them and whether it was worth the difficult development. Fighting off many animals and beasts, the friend was eventually struck down from the club of a forest orc. Her father managed to slay the beast, but possessing no magic of his own, he dragged his friend into a cave, hoping any monsters would at least leave them alone long enough for him to gather the necessary herbs to treat any possible infections. Bolting out into the evening, he hoped his friend would still be in one piece when he got back…

Returning as night began to set in, Nyusha’s father was relieved to see his friend utterly untouched, but his feelings of relief were soon quelled by the massive dragon before him. Unable to even let out a yell, he slowly stepped back before the dragon stopped him- revealing its own wound. It was clear what the situation was: treat them both, or the human was as good as dead. With no other option, he got to work treating them both, hoping he had enough material for the dragon’s larger wound.

Nyusha’s father was rendered in a seemingly comatose state, all the better since the presence of a dragon was sure to worsen his condition. It was many days before he noticed his friend beginning to stir- with a cautious glance up at the dragon, he saw it nod towards him. He let out a sigh of relief- apparently, this dragon was more reasonable than he expected.

The next morning, Nyusha’s father put his prized necklace back on the floor as a promise that he’d be back. However, something in him told him he had to come and see the dragon again, even though its wound was practically healed by now. He felt as if he could understand the dragon better with some time, and planned to use the necklace as also a reason to disappear into the forest again. Collecting his friend on his back, he trudged into the morning sun, hoping to evade any dangerous encounters…

Fighting off a few monsters with relative ease, his days of rest doing him much good, Nyusha’s father returned to a hero’s welcome. They had feared that they had both died in the mountains, appointing his cousin as the head of the village in the meantime. Taking the opportunity, Nyusha’s father offered his cousin the job for a little while longer, explaining his lost possession. His cousin agreed to the duty, as long as he could promise him he would come back alive. With another promise made, Nyusha’s father rested for a week before setting off again, his wife tearfully trying to prevent him from going…

It took him just a few hours to find the abode again. Though, when he came, the dragon was gone- and in its spot, a small, tailed baby lay, the necklace wrapped around its wrist. Nyusha’s father cursed himself; how could he have not noticed the dragon being pregnant all the while? Though, the half-human half-dragon baby concerned him. If not with him, where was the baby to go? With that in mind, he took the baby up in his arms and became her adoptive father. He named her Nisha, the word for necklace in his native language.

Nyusha’s father returned again, this time with less fanfare. The queer baby perplexed the townsfolk, especially the tail that beared a striking resemblance to the sketches of dragons preserved by the village elders. Nyusha’s father assured them she had nothing to do with dragons, and that the premise was simply absurd. If this baby was the product of a human and a dragon, why would they have not seen a dragon in hundreds of years? With the townspeople’s suspicions at bay, Nyusha’s father managed to raise the girl in a relatively well sheltered environment for the first years of her life.

Though, as Nyusha grew older, more occurrences drew suspicion from the townspeople around the child, most of all the wife of Nyusha’s father. At the age of two, her tail was no longer something that could easily be hidden- it grew to the length of her calves, easily poking out of any skirts and rounding out the backs of dresses. Meanwhile, red horns began to sprout from her head and her eyes began to burn more vividly scarlet. Each odd part of the child seemed to resemble a dragon’s with each passing day- some of the elders even began to preach that she was an ill omen or a harbinger of revenge from the dragons, having taken advantage of their leader.

As Nyusha began to understand language and be able to talk, she became more aware of the things being said to her. Because of this, bitter resentment grew as she began to attend school. Nyusha’s classmates initially had a pretty good relationship with the secular girl, but as they began to learn about the myths of the dragons that terrified their civilization years ago, it wasn’t long before a rift of suspicion grew between them. To exacerbate this, the parents of these children were quick to warn their young ones not to associate with the strange girl, given her very dragon-like features and the rumors surrounding her. As such, Nyusha spent much of her early childhood alone.

In this time alone, Nyusha became very learned. Although much of the reading around the classroom might as well have been propaganda, Nyusha brought her own books to school, and her father’s position as the head of the settlement meant she had a wide variety of educational materials, some of them teaching her about the world outside of her town. Though, much to her dismay, people like her seemed to be uncommon even outside the confines of her hometown. In contrast, they only seemed to show up in the little fantasy novels that her father had lying around the house…

Her time alone would have been sufferable if not for the status of her home life. The rumors surrounding Nyusha and her mother’s suspicion of her father having had the child with someone- or something- led to a troubled relationship between the two. She was unwilling to divorce out of her privileged status, however, and Nyusha’s father was desperate for her to stay to avoid spreading any more rumors about Nyusha. However, her mother’s thinly veiled distaste for her adopted child and her father’s frequent work meant that she was largely alone at home, as well.

With her ample time at home, virtually unsupervised, she would begin to explore just what was different about her. Some books in her father’s library detailing supernatural phenomena seemed to relate to her, but the young Nyusha wasn’t quite sure what they meant… One day, however, she came across a stack of books on a higher shelf, all grouped together. She saw the illustrations of dragons on the cover and almost dismissed them- but she did a double take as she saw the print being in another language, entirely. The young girl was entranced by the foreign writing, having never even known there were languages other than her own. She sat in the same spot for hours trying to decipher the script, even cross-referencing it with some of the similar books about dragons to see if she could make some sense of it… But it was no good. Eventually, her father came home to his study and found a sleeping Nyusha on top of a pile of books… Sighing, he took her to bed, hoping she would forget about it all, or lose interest.

Nyusha was not intent on forgetting about any of it. Knowing her father would be the only one to move her from his study, she immediately rushed after him before he left the next morning, grabbing him by his shawl. She demanded to know the script, or at least be taught it, or else she would stop going to school altogether… Something inside of the young girl told her that there was knowledge in those books she wouldn’t have access to otherwise. How did other societies see dragons, and what did they know that the elders didn’t?

Nyusha’s father was torn. Of course, he was well aware of Nyusha’s heritage and greatly desired for her to learn more about herself, but on the other hand, how would realizing that she was related to dragons affect her? Though, her adamance at learning convinced his father. He told her where to find the books on translation, but that was all the comment he would give her.

That same night, Nyusha retreated to the study, climbing up to the higher shelves to take down an old manuscript… The dust falling onto her head, her eyes widened as she read the title: “Notes on Translation of Dragon Runes.” Opening it up, she realized the script was the exact same as the script used in the books she had found, and the authors seemed to be elders of her own society. For Nyusha, this discovery raised more questions than answers. Had her people been friends with the dragons before? Did the elders of this generation even know of this document's existence? And also… did her father know how to speak the language of dragons? Regardless, she started her study that night, learning quickly from her dedication and passion.

The next morning, she asked her father whether or not he knew how to speak any of the language. Sighing, he admitted that he didn’t- there was simply no reason for him to learn it in the current era, but it was kept around in case of a return by the dragons. It was simply hidden from the elders to keep them from destroying it. Disappointed, and more confused about her own origins than ever, she returned to her study. Maybe she had no relation to the dragons, after all…

It was in the midst of her studies that Nyusha would stumble across some vocabulary. Enunciating the word for “spiritual” out loud, the girl found that it very much resembled the name she had been given in her own language. As such, while studying the dragon’s language, she took to calling herself that word: from “Nisha” to “Nyusha.” By the time she had taken this second name, she had nearly reached high school age, and managed to reach some amount of understanding of the language… Or at least, she thought she did. She was honestly unsure, sometimes, if what she was doing was correct, which made things very difficult. After all, she had no one to double-check her practice with.

While at school, Nyusha continued to be a studious and quiet girl, usually going about her own business. She tended to get lower grades despite being the smartest in the class- she was expected to be wholly exceptional to every teacher. By this age, Nyusha fully understood that she wasn’t liked by the town, however, and stopped caring with each passing grade. After all, she fully had her eyes set on the world outside the borders of her small town…

Nyusha’s graduation and her study of the dragon language would begin to conclude around the same time. However, as Nyusha got to some of the last pages of the book, a particular sentence written in the margins caught her attention: “The dragons will settle further North starting the fall of the five hundredth sixty eighth harvest.” Her curiosity piqued and with nothing to lose, she took off the next morning, brandishing nothing but a kitchen knife and a cutting board for a shield. She left a note with her father, saying: “Gone to check something, might not be back for a few weeks.”

Luckily, her travels were met with minimal resistance. Everything that stood in her path either scurried away at the sight of her horns or were easy enough to take down with the knowledge of martial arts that she was introduced to in school. Despite her sheltered upbringing, she managed just fine. After all, her father had taught her much of his work about surveying, which included survival skills to stay out in the wild. Eventually, she crossed over one of the mountains that separated her settlement from the outside world. Deciding to get one last look, she climbed up a nearby tree, peering back towards the village… seeing the graduating class that was so hateful of her walking the streets. With a pitiful smile to the secular village, she climbed down, restarting her trek after a short rest.

A few more days of travel would pass, the girl getting nervous about whether the dragons really were in her direction- maybe she had lost her course? Eventually, Nyusha would see a dim light shining through some trees. Another civilization, maybe? Cautiously, Nyusha began pushing her way through the branches to get a better look…

Before she felt a blunt force hit her, knocking her off her feet and pinning her to the ground.

Gasping for breath, Nyusha felt the pain in her chest, something heavy lying- no, pressed- up against her. Spitting some grass out of her mouth, she felt something warm drop onto her chest, wincing as she tried to open one eye to see what happened…

Nyusha’s surprised gasp was cut off only by her own cry of agony as she felt what must be her ribs breaking under the immense weight. A dragon- far smaller than anything she had ever seen in books- pinned her to the ground, it’s slobber dripping down onto her thinly clothed body. It was at this moment she understood all the ire her classmates ever had for her- her only thought was, ”I’m going to be eaten…", running through her mind over and over as the maw opened before her. The tongue, a dark blue color, licked up against her face, eliciting a worried groan from the girl. Though, the miniature dragon huffed, its warm breath cascading over Nyusha’s form.

“Wait… Is this a human…? But it has horns…” the dragon remarked in its own language… “Never mind, I must be overthinking it…” before opening its maw once again, getting even closer to Nyusha’s head.

Racking her brain, Nyusha sought for the word that she had learned, over and over… Before the word “Wait!” exited her mouth, just in time for the dragon’s descending maw to seemingly stop in surprise. The dragon recoiled, confused, looking at its prey as it sat on top of it.

“I can speak… your language…” she continued between pained moans. “I just… want to ask some questions…”

In the darkness, Nyusha was unable to gauge the dragon’s response, though she could probably imagine it. The dragon got off immediately, instead flying away, leaving Nyusha alone. Although she could hardly move, Nyusha moved over to her improvised sword and shield before someone came towards her. Unable to keep her eyes open, she looked up to see a form picking her up. As she fell asleep, she could only hope she wouldn’t wake up in its stomach…

Opening her eyes, Nyusha looked around, hardly able to move from her injuries. Her body was still sore, but as her vision became less blurry, she had more on her mind than that. She started, seeing many dragons huddled around her- some of small stature, some monstrous. One dragon looked exceedingly apologetic. By the shape and size- and the blue tongue that haunted her- Nyusha reasoned it was the same one who attacked her. The dragons around the table became elated to see her awake, many turning their heads curiously towards the girl…

What followed was an introduction of herself and an explanation of what was going on. She saw a few confused glances from dragons as she only could assume she got her grammar or vocabulary wrong, but she continued nonetheless, hoping her point would get across. They were all but silent until the end of her speech, the girl awkwardly looking around, waiting for someone to respond.

“And your father… Where did he find you?” one of the enormous dragons asked.

Taken aback, Nyusha took a moment to collect herself before responding. “I was found in the trees,” in the most clear way she could think her point would get across.

The dragon seemed to give a sorrowful look back to the girl, before it addressed her. “Your mother was a dragon, child. She had her life saved by a man in the woods, while she gave birth to you… She hoped the humans would be more understanding of you than the dragons would…”

Surprised, Nyusha asked back. “Do you… not like my kind…?”

The dragon shook its head in return. “We are accepting of it. It is other dragons that take issue. We would have found it beneficial if you never learned of your origins… but it seems you were not blessed with the most human characteristics.”

Nyusha and the dragon conversed for many hours, learning all about her family and her heritage. Apparently, the dragon she spoke to was a priest of the settlement, and Nyusha’s mother confided in her commonly. Through this, Nyusha learned of her mother, her relationship with a human man adventurer, and that man’s death at the hands of another human. Apparently, that human had long died, as well.

Her curiosity deepened by her newfound connection to this society, Nyusha began to converse with many of the dragons, learning more about them- and their shamanistic practices. Particularly curious about such practices, Nyusha would stay for an entire year, perfecting the practice before she got just about as good as the dragons she lived with, as well as learning their language better.

It would be around the same time of year that Nyusha would leave these dragons, returning back to her town to find the same graduation ceremony taking place. Sneaking back into her house, she naturally found no one present. She quickly went into her father’s study, taking a book on the most well-known language outside her town- according to the dragons, at least- and a pen and paper. She quickly wrote a hasty farewell, thank you, and assurance that she would visit once in a while, along with a signature bearing her own name, both in her native language and the dragon’s script.

As she snuck back out the house, off in the direction to the nearest settlement, she would take one last glance behind her before disappearing into the trees. As she did, she saw the figure of her adopted father waving at her, a piece of paper in his hand. She returned one final wave before starting on her way. She had a long way to travel before she would see another person…


The Way of the Shaman


Shamanistic practices are a type of practice originating from the practice of engraving magic. In this practice, spells are engraved into one's body, taking no mana to cast. However, the process of engraving is difficult, time-consuming, and can be extremely painful, and thus a practitioner’s spells must be carefully selected. This typically takes the form of tattoos somewhere on the practitioner's body.

Shamanism is a branch of the engraving school of magic. Instead of using engravings for all of their spells, shamans only engrave one spell onto their body- the spell for the use of another soul’s abilities. Thus, shamans can undergo the year-long process of engraving this spell onto themselves, then focus on harvesting the souls of whatever beings might possess qualities or abilities they desire.

Souls can be contained in a myriad of different ways. Certain shamans prefer to keep souls trapped into items or inside of a ring. However, having a physical conduit for one's magic defeats the purpose of shamanism for many practitioners, so many prefer to harvest souls completely within their own body. This can be taken care of in the engraving process, simply added to the spell that allows one to use soul’s abilities. Thus, one can never truly be disarmed.

Every battle for a shaman is an opportunity for them to empower themselves. As such, they can frequently be seen challenging strong opponents, attempting to best them in battle to use their abilities. However, this practice is also heavily frowned upon in a myriad of societies, and as such the collection of spirits has become a difficult practice for many practitioners. Because of this, many shamans travel far and wide, attempting to keep their footprint as small as they can wherever they go.

Generally, the strength of souls can fit into four different tiers by shaman scholars. The four tiers are as follows, from weakest to strongest:

Air-dwelling creatures, such as birds or flying insects.
Land-dwelling creatures, such as humans or wolves.
Water-dwelling creatures, such as fish.
Extra-dimensional creatures, such as hellspawn.

There are, of course, exceptions to these rules. Dragons tend to be stronger than any land-dwelling creatures despite being categorized as air-dwelling. Likewise, small fish tend to be weaker than some of the stronger land-dwelling creatures such as orcs. Usefulness of a soul will always be dependent on the strength of the particular soul that was taken, as well. The ordinary in life are useless to a shaman.

However, a shaman can only contain so much power within their body, as well. This amount can be expanded, but it takes immense meditation and training. The amount of souls that can be contained is never a set number, either. More souls will take up more space inside of a shaman, whereas weak souls will take up virtually no space. As such, it may be necessary for a shaman to rid themselves of souls on occasion to make room for new souls. This balance is part of the struggle of being a shaman. In exchange for being able to cast spells their species might not even be capable of, they are limited in how much magical power they can contain.

Spells cast by shamans may also come at side effects- while inheriting abilities of souls, it is also possible to inherit disabilities. Thus, shamans must carefully consider which soul to summon with both its benefits and deficits in mind.


Nyusha’s current spirits


A snake (bonding and trapping powers at the cost of being able to speak)
A turtle (strong all-around shield at the cost of speed)
A firefly (a lamp at the cost of strength)
A siren (lullaby proficiency at the cost of needing to focus solely on her performance)
A witch (low-level magical prowess at the cost of being unable to use another spirit for some time)
A dragon (size manipulation at the cost of possibly backfiring (1d4, roll a 1 to backfire))

Nyusha still has more room to contain spirits, but she would be unable to hold more than one more sea-dwelling soul.


Personality


Nyusha is a serious and spiritual girl with the remnants of a sheltered girl still recognizable in her personality. She has a lot of patience because of her training and her rather troubled upbringing, but she has a strong sense of right and wrong and won’t hesitate to tell you about it. She is confident in herself, though usually not beyond reason. She is very self-sufficient, being knowledgeable about many practical things thanks to her father’s surveying tutelage.

However, Nyusha’s curiosity can get the better of her, especially when a particularly strong spirit is involved. Her patient personality can sometimes mean she has difficulty asserting herself from time to time. Additionally, having been a loner for much of her life, she had trouble relating to other people if they don’t share similar experiences to herself. She is also quick to give up on other people because of her lack of expectations for others.

Nyusha's studious nature tends to lead her towards many libraries and places of knowledge. When she visits these places, she tends to cover herself in the most concealing garb as to prevent anyone from recognizing her shaman tattoos. Currently, the information she persues is that of supernatural occurences or strange phenomena, attempting to get closer to an extra-dimensional soul in her collection, but all the while getting herself in more trouble than she may have expected...

Much of Nyusha's travels follow her pursuit of knowledge, though she can also travel simply for pleasure from time to time.


Small tidbits


Her eyes change color based on what sort of spirit she is using.
No summon: red.
Air-dwelling spirit: blue.
Earth-dwelling spirit: brown.
Water-dwelling spirit: green.
Extra-dimensional spirit: unknown. Nyusha has yet to summon such a spirit.