Name: Astris Bourn

Meaning behind her name: Her name, Astris, is Latin for “from the stars”. Her mother picked the name, choosing it because of her passion for studying and drawing the stars. Astris’ memories of her mother are of observing the sky and helping her paint the constellations, although the memories are from when she was young, and have been fading over the years.

Age: 25

Gender: Female

Occupation: Former Bodyguard for the Emperor

Height: 5’ 8”

Appearance:

Astris is not tall, standing at 5’ 8”. Her build is lightly muscled, strong enough so she can hold her own in a fight, yet also light enough that she is fast and agile. Her skin is lightly tanned, marked by freckles that tend to concentrate on her shoulders and across her cheeks. She has an oval shaped face, with somewhat angular brows and upturned eyes that are hazel in color. Her nose has a small divot at the end and her lips are thin, with a small scar cutting across them. Her hair is short and fairly straight, and is a dark red-orange in color. If she ever let it grow long, it would be fairly wavy, though she is against the idea as it would require more care. She will rarely ever wear decorative clothing, sticking to whatever protects her whilst also allowing her to move easily. The uniform she wore as a bodyguard did just that, with simple clothing under light magic-resistant armor (similar to bulletproof vests, however there is also protection for her arms and legs, as well as a bit that covers the back of her neck). She carries with her a pair of matching magic-channeling pistols, with a star engraved in the grip of each, a gift from the Emperor before his passing.

Personality:

Astris is a fairly private individual, although she will confide in those she trusts. She’s a fairly good judge of character, and will have an easier time trusting those she judges to be trustworthy. The words that frequently are used to describe her are reckless, stubborn, bold, confident, and capable. She is a soldier, loyal and always willing to fight, however, she tends to do as she wants with no care whether doing so will kill her. She is intelligent, and can make rational decisions if a reckless decision will not work in her favor. Even then, she prefers the reckless route, as she would rather die doing something to save another than to follow the safe route and risk losing more lives.

Around those she is close to, there is a lot more to her, but her weaknesses do often get worse. She’s often sarcastic, and does care a lot about how someone is feeling. She can be protective as well, which is where her recklessness truly becomes an issue. She will throw her life away to save someone she cares for, without considering how her death may affect that person and others she has befriended.

Likes: having the freedom to make her own choices, succeeding, thunderstorms (particularly watching the lightning), reading

Dislikes: Having no input in choices that involve her, uncertainty, being unable to protect others, being unable to perform simple tasks

Strengths: confidence, intelligence, agility, quick-thinking

Weaknesses: recklessness, stubbornness,

Fears: She absolutely despises being unable to see what's around her or being able to move around. Small, dark spaces are the worst combination for her, though it does take some time for her to be seriously affected. She also hates the idea of having no one to talk to or experience life with, even if its just as a friend.

What makes her sad?: Stargazing, as it is an activity she did frequently with her mother

What makes her angry?: She hates being forced to do anything that goes against her morals, and hates those that are willing to harm others for their own personal gain even more

Astris tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her chest, trying to shove the last of her supplies into the bag. Footsteps rushed down the corridor in the direction of the Emperor’s chamber, snippets of conversations floating through her door. Soon enough she heard it, the confirmation for her fears. The Emperor was dead. She had to force down her emotions as they shot to the surface, her grip tightening on the item in her palm. Now was not the time for her to grieve, unless she wanted to be dead as well. She took a deep breath, forcefully shoving the last item into her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. Hurriedly she patted herself down, making sure her pistols were holstered and her armor was in fact on her. Her gaze was quick to turn to the door as louder footsteps sounded down the hall, followed by the slamming open of doors. As the shouting started she darted to her window, leaping out into the bushes a floor below. Pain shot up her legs at the landing, though she ignored it and sprinted across the palace courtyard, sticking to the shadows and pausing when needed.

She needed to get to the labs as quickly as possible, except they were at the opposite end of the grounds from where she was. At least there were few guards in the way, most of them being tasked with capturing the few mages that remained at the palace. The ones she encountered paid her little mind, likely not expecting a mage to be in a guards uniform. She’d had to steal one from them, as her usual uniform would give away that she was a mage. For months her and the Emperor had known this was coming, ever since he’d fallen sick. She was certain it was poison, no matter what people said. She had no proof, so that had been the end of that. Leaving still pained her, no matter how many times she’d tried to prepare herself. Thinking about it was a lot easier than doing. No amount of thought could really prepare her for losing someone she’d seen as a friend.

Soon enough she had reached the labs, punching in the code for the doors as quickly as she could manage and darted in. Someone would know she’d entered the building, if they’d added the level of security she believed they added. Always so curious about the Emperor’s projects, given he was quite secretive, even with his own council. She didn’t have time to think, focusing enough magic to fry the lock before heading deeper into the maze of rooms. Each was for a different prototype. Most were weapons, if not all of them. She hardly paid attention to any of them except when she had to help set out a fire. They had a tendency to malfunction sometimes. Some of them could be useful, she just couldn’t waste time figuring out which worked and which didn’t. Instead she headed straight through more locked doors into the Emperor's private section of the labs, her gaze falling upon the one machine that she knew.

Knowing the machine didn’t mean she trusted it, she’d been there during the early stages and watched as it exploded nearly a dozen times. However, she had flown in a few times on this more recent build, and it hadn’t failed. So she had some trust, enough that she didn’t hesitate to climb in and start flipping switches to power it on. It wasn’t a pretty machine, nor was it simple. She’d bugged the Emperor to make it simpler, he’d just never done so, as getting the machine to do as it was intended was more important than simplicity. She’d agreed, given she was the one testing it out and risking her life. Now she actually needed it, and if it didn’t work, she was most certainly doomed. The machine started with a whirr, shaking as its components came to life. Once it had fully started she got it moving, the machine rapidly launching from the labs, through a short tunnel that spat them out into the night sky. She found herself hesitating to press the button that would do something special - she just didn’t actually know what it did. It was the one thing she was never told, and now it was a little too late to ask. So she pressed the button, certain the Emperor wouldn’t tell her to do so if he thought it would kill her.

The machine grew louder, its speed increasing to a pace that she was growing quite uncomfortable with. Then for some reason there was a flash, and then the engine fell silent. She wasn’t quite sure what happened, just that suddenly the machine was hurtling towards the ground. A couple times it sputtered as if it was trying to revive itself, though at most the fall was only slowed. The crash itself was still far from pleasant, with the machine hurtling through multiple trees before making contact with a rock and coming to a halt. Astris' head slammed into something, nearly knocking her unconscious. She groaned, struggling against the strap that held her in the machine. It seemed stuck, though after a few more hard tugs it let her loose and she stumbled her way out of the machine, nearly forgetting to pull her bag out with her. She only made it so far before falling over, rolling onto her back as she tried to recover. Blood was trickling down her face and she could tell parts of her clothing had torn when she’d struggled her way out of the machine, though she wasn’t quite sure how bad she was actually hurt. She could hardly assess the situation fully, trying to bring herself down from the edge of panicking.

She only stayed there for so long, moving off in search of some place to hide out and tend to whatever injuries she’d sustained. As she moved she couldn’t quite shake the feeling that something was wrong. She’d been certain the moon hadn’t been full, and she’d never seen quite so many stars. Maybe her mind was just playing tricks on her, she was having enough difficulty thinking straight. As she’d done repeatedly over the past hour, she pushed her worries aside, instead focusing her whole focus on finding a place to rest. She settled with a rocky alcove, not quite a cave but large enough for her to have cover from any rain if she needed it, grabbing a few sticks to use to get some sort of fire started. It may not be the smartest idea, as it would make her easier to spot, but she seemed to have her priorities elsewhere. Astris tucked herself in the alcove, setting the sticks up in a makeshift pyramid shape, then attempted to focus enough for her magic to light the fire. For a moment she failed, any flames she summoned sputtering out of existence before catching the sticks aflame. Eventually she succeeded, letting out a sigh as she leaned back against the rocks. She struggled to keep herself conscious, her eyelids repeatedly shutting for the brief seconds she gave in, only for her to jerk back awake and repeat the process.

The plan had been simple enough. Get the money, get out. He hadn't prepared for the barrage of hired guns or lawmen waiting for them. "Fall back!" he commands, spinning his mount rather harshly. His horse prances, hooves flying at anything nearby as the shadow of a man waits for the last of his posse to retreat. When given the command to follow, the painted bay obliges. The horse's strong legs follow the group of men and women, slowly but surely heading the pack of horses and riders. A shrill whistle, one barely heard over the thunder of racing hooves. Split, get to the trees. They all knew what it meant and did just that, the group of 10 splitting themselves randomly.

Now, after the fury of hooves had subsided, Warren is left hidden under the cover of trees. His comrades had fled in various directions, a tactic meant to confuse whoever chased them. His eyes scan the rest of the forest, listening as he catches his breath and mind. It was silent other than the squawk of birds and chatter of squirrels, alerting the rest of the creatures to his presence. Once deemed safe, he arises from his spot, untying his horse from nearby. The two make their way towards a path, his steed seemingly happy to just be there. It was a calm ending to his mission. That is, until a large flash and careening metal object leaves Warren dumped in the dirt, horse now fleeing in panic.

He hurries back, a ball of panic and the need to escape, yet something intrigues the man to stay, albeit a distance away. A hum, like that of a calling, develops in his chest. Warren soon realizes that it wasn't actually a spiritual moment, rather the object opening and producing what seemed to be a woman.

He watches curiously as said figure makes their way off into the woods, and he follows. At some point she stops to tend wounds, at least thats what he thought. Voices, more likely shouts from the law that managed to catch up, catch his attention. His intentions were to find a place she wouldnt be found, mostly for fear they would kill her. As he scoops her from the ground, he murmurs a few worried words, "Stay with me. Keep your eyes open."

Of the many skills Astris had, healing was not one of them. It required more focus and attention than she could manage, but at least she had somehow stopped the bleeding. She wasn’t quite sure how she managed that, just relieved she wasn’t losing anymore blood. On the other hand, her headache persisted, something she figured would heal with time. On most occasions she had a fairly high pain tolerance. However, when it came to head injuries, it seemed she had almost none. Likely had to do with her brain getting shaken around, or the fact she’d fallen from the sky in a giant metal object. Neither of which were typical injuries of hers, so she supposed she could count herself lucky. Even then she knew falling unconscious was unwise, the urge was far too compelling.

To try and keep herself awake she tried to find something to focus on, at first choosing the stars, though doing so hardly helped her feel any better. Instead she tried to observe her surroundings, her gaze refusing to stay on anything in particular. Her vision was fairly blurry, everything she turned her gaze to appearing in doubles. The issue only confused her further, a heavy sigh escaping her lips as she rubbed her temples in hopes of soothing the splitting headache. At points her mind was clear and she was capable of clear thought, other times it felt like everything was foggy and slow. Seeing a figure did jolt her awake, though for a good moment she wasn’t sure if she was actually seeing someone.

Upon being scooped up her senses were driven into panic mode, hardly noting that he seemed to have good intentions. She hadn’t escaped just to be killed because she was too out of it to protect herself. She had been trained as a soldier, and a soldier didn’t let someone carry them off as long as they were conscious. With all the strength she could manage she forced herself from his grasp, and to be certain she got free, used some magic to create a static shock to encourage his hold to release. Her landing was far from graceful, more of a pained thud that hardly made her issues any better, but she was quick to get to her feet and back away. The movements only made her head spin, losing her balance for a moment and nearly falling over, but managing to keep herself upright. Despite having gotten free she didn’t run, not that she could, instead deciding to question the individual. It was a situation where she probably shouldn’t be choosing to indulge her curiosity, but chose to anyway.

“What are you doing?” The question was the first that came to mind, though she was uncertain whether they were the correct ones to ask. She hadn’t bothered to hide her hostility as she spoke, figuring it was a reasonable response. The majority of this hostility was due to her current state, aware that she would not win any fight she got in, and scared because of that. It almost hurt her to simply admit that she was scared, though it was hard to deny her fear. She did try to hide it from her expression, but was hardly able to keep her mind focused long enough to actually succeed at doing so.

Picking up on the sound of voices hardly did her any good either, her gaze shifting between the stranger before her and the direction in which the sounds came from. She paled, freezing up at the noise and only panicking further. Had she already been found? From the stranger’s reaction it seemed he wasn’t interested in meeting the source of the voices either, though she wasn’t sure if that observation was enough for her to base her decision on. She decided she didn’t have enough time to have that debate, moving away from the voices yet closer to the stranger. She hated making choices like this, where neither option seemed to be the correct one. “I suppose you know the area better than I do, and aren’t interested in meeting the source of the shouting either, so I will follow you. I can walk well enough.” She wasn’t sure how well she could actually walk, expecting either to be more capable than she thought or to end up making a fool of herself.