Appearance

Physical Description

Iris is roughly the size of an average field mouse, and every day faces the challenges of trying to live her ordinary life at a scale that obviously isn't very ideal for her. Her frame is rather thin and lithe-looking, allowing her a great deal of flexibility, though her physical strength leaves much to be desired. Making up for that, though, while humble and earthly, she does have a rather fortunate, pretty appearance, which helps a great deal in conducting herself with Charisma and poise.

Body Features

Two things immediately jump to the forefront when observing Iris' body. First and foremost, the trusty whip she acquired from a charming salesman of peculiar tools and oddities. It's not only her main weapon of choice and a great way to intimidate her enemies, but she also uses this to help her navigate difficult-to-traverse environments with ease. Secondly, her tail moves and sways with such a primal awareness to it that one would think it has a life of its own. She does her best to control its motions for the purposes of her work, but in moments of weakness and anxiety when her façade breaks its known to stand stiff on end as a sign of fear.

Facial Features

Iris' sclera appear a fair bit larger than that of an ordinary mouse, one of the main identifiers that she's anything more than that besides being bipedal and wearing clothes. She can pull off a wide array of colourful expressions for different situations and is very good at masking her true feelings to others, though, in a bad stroke of luck, her face may occasionally get stuck in certain positions when overstimulated with the uncertainty of success.

Identifying Characteristics

Though not typically in view due to her outfit, Iris possesses a particularly nasty scorch mark on her left shoulder, one earned during her escape from the militia that assaulted her village. She doesn't really like showing it off or calling attention to it, but if absolutely necessary, it can act as a very clear sign that she's been through some pain and has at least one battle scar to her name.

Physical quirks

Physical quirks are already largely described in the above sections; there's no need to go over them again here.

Apparel & Accessories

Given her diminutive size and the nature of her mission, Iris feels the need to toe a lot of lines when it comes to her appearance. Her primary outfit is a decently fetching though not overly bright green dress, simple and plain, which hugs her body reasonably tight, and is coupled with a nice golden trim that is shared by the red half-cloak she dons on top of it. It hits all the right spots, being light enough that she's easier to see than she would be otherwise in a populated space in the open, but dark enough to let her be intimidating when she wants to be. It has enough of a soft femininity to it that it lends itself to her charisma and leaves an impression, while still being practical enough to do adventuring in.

Specialized Equipment

As a Paladin, Iris' appearance has a very clinical and clean sort of appearance to it, befitting of someone following a so-called holy creed and trying to assume the performative role of a stern warrior who seeks to stamp out the seeds of rebellion. All of her casting appears in a shade of light blue, the spells themselves taking on very simple, bland shapes, like rings, cylinders, small symbols representative of her god; they could even be something as simple as a cold, glowing outline. They're succinct as they are basic to boot, seeming like they're over just as soon as they begin if the spell's effect is particularly short.

Special abilities

Iris has been given a special pouch of sorts by the church that enables her to carry things such as currency and whatnot that would typically be far too large for her to be lugging around, begrudgingly for herself, at least allowing her some leeway in terms of dealing with the physical disadvantages she lives with.

Mentality

Personal history

Iris grew up in the peaceful village of Chrysanthemus, a sprawling network of little woodland creatures who survived and thrived off the use of magic in their everyday lives to support each other and protect themselves from those who'd seek to do them harm. The Jerbeen sought to follow right in lockstep with her predecessors as part of the next generation of arcane wielders, but unfortunately, when the Fall of Magic came to pass, the village fell into disarray, and Iris's teachings were cut short barely before they had begun.

Without being able to publicly practice the arts out of fear of being spotted and neutralised, the magic-dependent society fell apart as Iris struggled to keep things together for her family and clan. Eventually, the final straw that broke the camel's back was when a member of the village was caught casting spells in front of an authoritarian militia that sought to rid the village of its magical influence and perform a hostile takeover. At best, imprisonment and at worst, death ensued for the inhabitants surrounding them. Iris managed to retreat from the scene, but not without sustaining injury in the process, harsh burn marks being left on her arm as she left.

After the smoke cleared and the mouse had escaped to safety, she swore she'd find a way to restore the right to cast magic for the people of the world, and in doing so, revitalise the will and presence of the village she once called home. Her journey to attaining this goal began when she happened upon Orasenerana and pledged herself to the Church of Ruvanke as a Paladin, then and there deciding that she'd commit to the role required to be one of the scant few legally allowed to cast magic. If she did that, then maybe someday, when her powers had blossomed, she could use it to fight back against the people who tore the lives of her home asunder and not allow anyone to go through that torment again. All she'd have to do is put on the performance of a lifetime.

Education

The village Iris grew up in generally wasn't the most keen on sending people out to receive their education in the larger world, taking on a more home-grown approach. She would learn about the world outside from those older than her when and where appropriate, and Iris did become particularly interested in these bits of culture, becoming especially interested in thespian pursuits and learning the performing arts, a stroke of fortune that would help her greatly with her current role of espionage. But of course, the mouse's superiors and heritage were mostly concerned with teaching her the ways of magic when she came of age, though unfortunately she was only able to be taught a scant few cantrips before the age of magic cut her efforts to learn the ways of the arcane brutally short, and she had to run before she could make any true strides. Now, the rest of her magical tutelage lies in her own hands through her development in the church of Ruvanke.

Employment

Iris' official job is being a Paladin working directly in the service of the Church. So far, being only a very recent addition to their ranks, Iris has largely been in charge of simple odds and ends. She stands watch where she's told to, works with the guards in keeping the peace to whatever extent she can, and scares off those who would seek to harm the city or attempt to publicly practice magic. However, her prospects are beginning to grow as she's finally been entrusted with greater missions and excursions to the outside, even having been tasked with recruiting a party of adventurers to travel with her. Working in groups isn't something Iris is particularly used to, and doing so makes it a bit trickier to keep her cover, but she's going to have to adapt and overcome in order to maintain her job- and her life.

Accomplishments & Achievements

Iris has slowly but surely been building up her status in the city, working to form a reputation for herself as a remarkable Paladin and a loyal protector of the law. Her deeds so far are small and innocuous, but nonetheless worth noting, such as making remarkable progress in being able to handle her liquor regardless of her small size, managing to beat Aurora in an arm wrestle (with some magical assistance from Damian), and, alongside the party, helping thwart a squad of attacking goblins.

Failures & Embarrassments

While Iris has been doing a decent job of maintaining her persona as a holy arm of the law, she is not immune to having her pose as a brave warrior shattered. She was well and truly caught off guard by a playful surprise scare on the part of Damian in his feral form, and briefly showed immense fright to one of her fellow devout church members because of it. Additionally, she has been shown to not be very comfortable acting in a position of leadership in a larger group, becoming a bit of a stuttering mess when she was looked to among the party she assembled to provide a proper plan as to what manner in which to deal with the goblin threat, choking from the sudden realization of responsibility as it hit her all at once.

Mental Trauma

Mental trauma is commonplace for Iris, as not a day goes by that she isn't constantly yearning for the day she can stop pretending and live exposed in the light, rather than hidden in the shadows for the sake of saving her people. As part of her expected duties and persona, she has to hide these frustrations from most people, walking a deadly tightrope of mental strain.

person.sexuality

Iris is bisexual, though her sexuality isn't a topic that comes up particularly often due to not feeling ready for any sort of partnership, not while the danger of her work could put anyone she becomes too close to in jeopardy. Either way, though, she'd consider herself more of a slow-burning romantic, not the type to engage in something like a one-night stand if she can help it.

person.gender_identity

Iris has a bit of an awkward relationship with her sense of gender identity. While she confidently and explicitly identifies as female, she doesn't express her femininity as much as she might like out of fear of not appearing imposing enough as a Paladin. Her work requires a lot of intimidation, and it's hard to be intimidating when you're all gussied up, but when push comes to shove, she can't resist a good fashion overhaul.

Personality

Motivation

Iris purports towards the church to be learning the ways of the Paladin for more traditional reasons and acts under the guise of wanting to keep magic restricted; however, secretly, she works with the resistance as something of a mole to aid them, disclosing whatever tidbits of interesting information she can come across in her cover work to try and give them the edge. Iris wants magic to be free and wild again to allow the people of her home to live in peace once more, and hopes through her Paladin training to covertly grow her understanding of magic deeper, the way she never got the chance to properly when her home was attacked.

Quotes & Catchphrases

N/A

Vices & Personality flaws

Iris is stuck between a rock and a hard place; she knows she has to do everything she can to aid the resistance wherever possible, but her path to doing so involves frequent deceit and subterfuge, acting outside the interests of the church and god she's pledged herself to. She lives with a metaphorical sword hanging over her head, knowing she walks a fine line between strengthening her own agenda and upholding the tenets she has sworn to. Should that line snap from leaning too far in one direction over the other, Iris' imagination spirals with anxiety at the potential consequences.

Social

Birthplace

Chrysanthemus