Safira

The cold woman from where light fades away...

Article written by TheSolitaryGamer, Character co-authored by HunnyBon, Artwork by Narotiza
_{See author's notes for further details}

Safira, depending on whichever version of Earth a human resides on, is either a dangerous outlaw the Deepcore Foundation is after, or the leader of a group of human survivors within the frozen wastelands. An enigmatic and powerful woman, Safira was once an unwilling resident of The Chasm, having been down there for an unknown amount of time, speculated to be over a hundred years. Yet despite her apparent age, those who are aware of her have reported her having a stunning, beautiful form. Wheras her goals in The frozen wasteland are to simply protect those whom have sought refuge in The Chasm, her wherabouts and plans on Earth are currently unknown...

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Her physical condition can be considered rather agile and healthy. Along with the unnatural body height she exhibits, she displays high agility and strength, being able to tear through reinforced materials with relative ease. Alongside that, she's been seen to exhibit plenty of stamina. It's suspected that her height, strength and agility are all a result of her exposure to the high amounts of Mana located in The Chasm, altering her physical form over the span of years.

Identifying Characteristics

One noteworthy detail that has been observed by many is that her eye color tends to shift and change over time; possibly as a result of continued exposure to the mana within The Chasm. A common middle-ground appears to be a greenish color; with it being seen shifting between reddish-orange coloration, various shades of purple, and a light bluish color.

Special abilities

As previously stated, she displays an unusual amount of strength and agility. Alongside this, however, those whom have experienced her in combat within the mainline version of Earth; or those whom have lived with her for a long enough time within The Chasm, have experienced her displaying two interesting types of abilities, both of which has allowed her to survive whatever has been thrown at her.

Lethargic Injury Reaction ~ Whenever she sustains a type of injury, whether it's being burnt, shot or stabbed; her body-- and as some have speculated, her nervous system; will not react to the injury immediately. In more precise terms, if you were to stab her; she would not react to it until a fair bit later; she will not flinch in pain nor will her wound bleed until some time has passed.

Enhanced Senses ~ Safira has shown a keen sense of awareness of her surroundings, being able to sense differences in the air to the point of being able to detect anything that is invisible. Alongside that, her hearing has seemingly been enhanced, allowing her to hear even the smallest step a person could make; which has resulted in difficulty with surprising her.

Apparel & Accessories

Seemingly the only form of clothing Safira wears is a tattered, worn cloak. She has been seen in certain independent cities without too much in the form of clothing, much of her skin visible to those whom look; though oftentimes she has managed to keep her body hidden in public.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Most of Safira's history is relatively unknown, even to those within Ark. Based on information retrieved from the town of Hallowridge right on the outside of the entrance to The Chasm, she was likely thrown down into The Chasm during the time of the Salem Witch Trials during the late 1600s. How she survived is unknown, with some within the town suggesting that it was due to the supposed witchcraft she was said to have been able to do; which allowed her to withstand the injuries from the height she fell.

What she has done in the Chasm and how she survived in there from that point onward; from the early 1700s to the modern age; remains unknown. The environment of The Chasm, by all accounts based on various reports from the Deepcore Foundation taken in 1982, suggests that for an ordinary human with barely any supplies, they would have a 3.33% chance of survival; and that's without taking into account the longevity she seemingly has in terms of her lifespan. Thanks to various temporal anomalies theorized to have occurred thanks to the Temporal Reality Theorem, Safira would go onto three different paths in life depending on the circumstances of the world around her:

Earth

Safira's existence first became known to the Deepcore Foundation after efforts were made to attempt to get into The Chasm in 1989 to mine the mass quantities of Edenite and Mana located in its depths. While down there, mining crews would be assaulted by this woman, whom would manage to withstand weaponry fired upon her. Along with the dangerous lifeforms located within The Chasm, this has resulted in numerous casualties and injuries amongst the small teams that were sent down.

As the year 2015 approached, more and more efforts were made down into The Chasm, coinciding with the massive mining operation occurring within the Vredefort crater. As luck would have it, however, things would take a turn for the worst with the Deepcore Foundation's operations there. Camera footage had shown that the woman had managed to escape from the chasm wielding an as-of-current unidentified spell book. What happened next is unknown, but reports have suggested that she escaped with another resident of the town, after the deaths of everyone in Hallowridge. Shortly afterward, The Withering occurred.

Safira and this other resident; later identified to be a criminal and possibly responsible for the slaughter of all the civilians within Hallowridge, are speculated to have survived the cataclysmic events of The Withering, as they've been seen interacting in various cities unaffiliated with the Deepcore Foundation, typically those that are either under the New America Association or whom are otherwise independent.

Frost

The advancement of technology within this timeline after the failure of the SODOM ratification allowed for the Deepcore Foundation to come down into The Chasm quicker than the main timeline's counterpart. Despite that, however, they still suffered heavy losses as a result of the Deepcore Foundation's typical abandonment towards safety, the hazardous conditions of The Chasm, and of course Safira herself. These troubles would continue until World War III occurred, destroying most of the world and freezing it over. While it's possible Safira would've found it odd initially that the Deepcore Foundation up and disappeared one day, the next thing that would occur would be even stranger.

Through various means, ranging from long ropes coming from the town of Hallowridge, to magic used by Arcanist Jumpers; groups of people would begin to climb down into The Chasm, seeing it as a place of potential salvation from the cold outside. These people would often run into trouble in The Chasm due to the hazardous lifeforms living in the area, as well as the odd effects it has on the inhabitants within. As a result of this, Safira would begin to take these people under her care.

Since then, Safira has essentially become the leader of these people, whom have been referred to as 'Chasmdwellers'. Although she has been able to be open and relaxed with these people, to her; the outside world is not something she's much interested in anymore, after the world froze over... And as such, she has remained in The Chasm.

Further information is currently being gathered, please be patient. - Cherlynn.

Space

Observation of the galactic frontier is currently off limits. I've made this clear already. - Charon.

Education

Although she is not aware of the advances in technology that were made in the past hundred years, to the point of showing a curious kind've interest in most of it; she has been seen with a considerable amount of knowledge when it comes to Mana and Edenite, having been caught telling those within independent cities various things she's learned about both. How she learned this knowledge is unknown, presumably she has been self-taught, or she has learned from someone in the past before she was thrown into The Chasm. Regardless, her average level of intelligence seems to at the very least be above-average in this regard.

She appears to be rather adept at leading or manipulating people despite issues she has with her social abilities. Her mainline incarnation has been able to take good care of the criminal element she travels with; and although she initially had trouble with figuring out how to coax people into doing what she wants, around a year of her travelling across America seems to have allowed her to gradually learn the best way to get people to help her. Conversely, her incarnation in the frozen wastelands has had to learn from the bare minimum on how to lead those whom would become fellow residents within The Chasm; getting better at it over time.

Mental Trauma

It's not entirely possible to gauge how much mental trauma she has been through since her time in The Chasm. There's some speculation that her attempts to fend off the Deepcore Foundation can be attributed to her reaction to the hand she has been dealt in life. Between being thrown down into The Chasm after being accused of being a witch; to living for around 300 years within a dark chasm where many monsters await, it's possible that she has gained a general hostility towards those whom would cause her trouble in any way, shape or form.

Presumably, in the frozen wastelands; her mental state has been slowly recovering thanks to extended contact with other humans, though how much this can ring true for her iteration in the main timeline remains unknown. The most that is known, however, is that during brief glimpses that have been observed during her time staying with the criminal element she travels with post The Withering, she's been seen slowly; yet gradually, showing emotion and care towards very, very few people, mainly the person she left Hallowridge with.

Morality & Philosophy

Given how she has taken a criminal element under her wing in the mainline version of Earth, one whom reports suggested was mentally unwell and had many issues with the town of Hallowridge; and given how her counterpart in the frozen wastelands has taken in those whom were coming into The Chasm for sanctuary, she does appear to have a type of morality and empathy to those whom are undergoing a kind've suffering much like she had; even if her own hell was worse than what any other human would have to go through. In the frozen wastelands, she has been known to be brutal and without mercy towards those whom would get in the way of the Chasmdwellers' life.

She has been seen being polite on occasion to those whom interact with her in independent cities; though she will often react in disdain towards those whom threaten her or the criminal element she travels with. She acts similarly in the frozen wastelands when one comes into The Chasm and threatens or generally causes trouble for the Chasmdwellers. Regardless, however, she will often subtly slip in small insults towards people, demeaning them if she feels the need be. Lastly, she does not appear to be above messing with or manipulating people using her looks or her words; which has seemingly helped her out when needed.

Personality Characteristics

Likes & Dislikes

She seems to value company, comfort and care from those whom would give her it, often seeming rather thankful of it. Although she can be rather weary of those whom would offer her assistance or company initially, she seems to gradually warm up if it's been given for an extended period of time. She seems to value the most people whom've suffered; often finding it easier to connect to them. Also, while not entirely relevant, she seems to particularly enjoy rice cakes with jam on them; which has atleast brought someone onto her good side on one observed occasion.

With those she does not particularly see as a threat, such as employees working for the Deepcore Foundation or average; ordinary people, she displays a bit of superiority towards them, seeing them as weaker for one reason or another. Oftentimes, she will even remark as such when she slips in a sly remark about them, calling them a weak or pathetic humans.

Social

Contacts & Relations

As of current, any known relatives to Safira are unknown; possibly due to a lack of knowledge of her family history, if she even remembers it. The only contact she has on the mainline version of Earth is the criminal element she travels with. Conversely, however, in the frozen wastelands, she has the Chasmdwellers she lives with, having grown to treat them as a part of her family.

Social Aptitude

On initial meetings with her, one would assume she's a cold woman, regardless of if she's smiling or frowning. However, depending on one's relationship with her and how she views someone in return; her mood and attitude differs in subtle ways. In the end, however, she has a high amount of charisma that has allowed her to get what she wants in most cases. She's been seen displaying a soft and gentle; caring attitude to people if she knows them well, as is the case with the criminal element she travels with or the people she lives with within the frozen wastelands. However, she also has been seen being strict if needed, such as keeping those she's with from getting into danger or doing anything particularly risky, unless she's confident in their abilities.

When it comes to other people, regardless of if it's people she distrusts or strangers; she tends to keep her distance from them emotionally. Oftentimes she would not only be cold towards them and seemingly uncaring, but she would also slip in more subtle insults towards them than normal. However, if it's someone she feels she can get information or a particular item out of; she'll attempt to manipulate them. She's aware of a type of beauty she has, and she will use that and her voice to her advantage to trick someone and get them to either listen to her or give something to her; lowering their guard due to how she speaks to them. On rare occasions, however, if she absolutely has to, she will get into a fight; which often results in injury for her target.

Despite what was previously described, however, she can be inept at times with social cues and such. She'll stand awkwardly around nearby in a conversation; often staring at someone for an extended period of time. Oftentimes, she'll come up close to someone regardless of their personal space and make physical contact with them; speaking to them with an outside voice of sorts. This has led to confused reactions and emotions from them most of the time, as she sometimes does this with those she's either familiar with or does not see as a threat.

Speech

Although her voice can come off as a fair bit strained and rough; there's a significant glow of confidence to her speech at times, with praise often going towards those close to her and subtle insults being dished out whenever she feels it necessary. As noted previously, however, although she can use her voice to her advantage when the time calls for it as despite being rough, people have been reportedly able to relax to her speaking. When it comes to her being in contact with those she's familiar with, however, she will often speak with an outdoor voice.

One last thing to note about her speech that it appears to be based on the speech patterns and accent of those living in the puritan era of Pre-American history; while at the same time having its own significant deviations. As such, she may refer to things with outdated terms; have to be taught words for things she wouldn't have known existed during the time of the late 1600s, and annunciate specific vowels in odd ways. Her accent would sound strained at times, hard letters sounding harsher as a result. The deviations can possibly be attributed to how long she has spent living in The Chasm, the environment and time spend down there resulting in a change of accent as observed in locations such as Antarctica and The Northern World

Current Status

Unknown, last seen travelling with unknown criminal element

Current Location

American Wasteland

Species

Human

Ethnicity

White

Age

Unknown

Gender

Female

Eyes

Varied, see chart below

Hair

Unnaturally long, a dark-grayish color that hangs down the entire length of her body

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Pale, white skin, only blemish being a small mole near her belly button

Height

6'11'' | 2.08m

As of current, Safira; name obtained through FENRIR Unit Heimdallr informational retrival program, is wanted for the following crimes:

Destruction of Deepcore Foundation machinery

Injury to Deepcore Foundation personnel

Resisting arrest

Theft

Association with criminal elements

interfereing with Deepcore Foundation mining excavations

A spokeperson working for the Deepcore Foundation has described her as so:

Despite what her appearance may lead you to believe, she is a dangerous element. Anyone who reports her to any standard Deepcore Foundation associate within your area will be greatly rewarded!

According to research that has been partaken by various employees within the Deepcore Foundation, FENRIR, and Ark, Safira represents an interesting view of the Temporal Reality Theorem. Namely, that depending on the lifespan of a lifeform, there will exist temporal duplicates of them in split timelines, which can have alternate personalities or lives after a certain point; yet are essentially the same as the main timeline's iteration of them.

Information updated on Janurary 3rd, 2017.
I know Charon isn't going to be too particularly happy with this, even with our best observational tech it's been difficult to learn more about her. It doesn't help that the malcontent is watching her, he and the reality warper make it hard for us to observe. Regardless, my team is going to continue our observations of her and the other subjects. - Cherlynn Oliver.