Amelia Korp

Hey, finally! It's my turn to get an introduction!

— Amelia Korp, Protagonist Of That Shedim Book That's Possibly Happening (Probably)

A woman in her early thirties, Amelia is a survivor. She survived her own mental anguish first, the depravations of Fae second, and the trauma that lingered after that. Her face is marred by three wicked scars that cross her face, with the longest going from the top of her scalp all the way down to her chin. It splits her lip apart in one place, twisting whenever she smiles. The wounds are old now but ill-healed; the creatures who inflicted them forbidding true recovery. The split is stitched together, sometimes with silver thread, and the other wounds permanently mark her still. Her hair is raven black, usually tied into a tight bun with two decorative pins and a kanzashi or two attached to those for a splash of red color. Other scars peek out from her sleeves, a spiderweb of fading cuts that crawl up her forearms. By either luck or fate, the claws and razors that caused the terrible scars missed her steel-grey eyes.
Amelia is irreverent, confident, occasionally neurotic, and has a sort of devil-may-care attitude. She doesn't much care for the politicking side of wizardry, staying out of the thick of that to do her own thing. It gives her an easy-going charisma that, without really intending to, draws people to her. To friends and lovers, she can be exuberant and joyous, or morose and thoughtful, but never unpleasant. Though not the strongest or the most skilled magi, she has a tenacity that lets her push on where others might give in and give up.

Mortal Days, Mortal Nights

I put the 'starving' into 'starving artist' like nobody else!

— Amelia Korp

Originally from Canada, Amelia had moved to the US to pursue dreams of becoming an artist. Though skilled, her upbringing had been troubled, and she was haunted by a past of neglect and abuse that saw her alternate between bleak depression and manic energy. Nor did her skill at painting or crafting translate particularly well to the business side of things. For a time, she lived out of hostels and homeless shelters, survived on food stamps, and scrounged for anything she could use. Just as she was starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel, it fell right out on her - a dalliance with drugs turned into an addiction, a release and escape from the pain.
Throughout the time, she wasn't without friends and always had people around her who liked her. With their help, she managed to find a unstable footing, at least for a time. It wouldn't last.

The Wild Hunt

Oh, these motherfuckers.

— Amelia Korp

In an evening meant to be a celebration of rare success, Amelia and three of her friends were instead pulled into the nightmarish horror of the Wild Hunt along with a whole nightclub of victims. It was her first introduction to the world of magic.

by Unsplash (Jaroslav Devia)

Amelia survived through a combination of bloody-minded tenacity, quick thinking, a good bit of luck, and the Fae's own hunger for entertainment. It was the first but not the last time she would tangle with the Fae. She became Aware of the true nature of the world when an accidental Gate in the Wild Hunt saw her briefly visit the Faelands.
Once back in the Prime, Amelia might still have died if it hasn't been for the combined intervention of a Walker who had been drawn to the chaotic energies of the Wild Hunt, and a Fae who saw something in her that it liked. Even then, the Wild Hunt almost broke her, body and soul. She emerged the other end - battered, beaten, scarred, and cursed, but alive.

When the terrifying ordeal was finally over, Amelia's face was a wreck. The claws of a Fae-beast have mangled her, and whatever hex that lingered in them refused to let them heal. Two of her friends were dead, along with most of everyone else, and her brand new mentor was one arm shorter. Any dreams of how magic would be this wondrous thing had been cruelly cut down. All that was really left to do was to pick up the pieces.

Broken Butterfly

There's only so much you can really take.

— Amelia Korp

After surviving the Wild Hunt, Amelia had to try and put together some sort of semblance of normality again. Her disfigurement haunted her, and she could never venture out in public with feeling the eyes of everyone on her, whether it was true or not. She came to see herself as a hideous creature as a result, becoming almost entirely nocturnal and anti-social. Only a few mortal friends stuck with her.
Then, there were the dreams.

The wounds she had sustained during the Wild Hunt were charged with malignant energies, and they lingered within her. It made her dreams wild and fantastical but often terrifying. However faintly, they connected her to the Faelands, and she could hear the horn of the wild hunt sound whenever her dreams were at their darkest.
With her life falling apart around her, it was in magic she found a sort of salvation. The same Walker who had aided her in the Wild Hunt became her mentor, taught her to cast spells and make pacts, bind essence into her art, and see the wonders of an unknown world. As much as she feared every step, they eventually lead her to a place of beauty. She expanded her horizons, met other magi, and learned what monsters lurk in the dark.

by Unsplash (Sebastiaan Stam)

It all culminated in a bold scheme - she would hunt the Wild Hunt when they next came to the world.

The Huntress Remade

Here we go again.

— Amelia Korp

To kill monsters, Amelia sought an unusual tutor - another monster, a nameless spirit bound to an ancient grave. After almost coming to blows in the first encounter, Amelia and the spirit forged a Pact. It would teach her to become a huntress, for a price known only to her and her mentor.

by Unsplash (Zoltan Tasi)

The Fae, seldom denied their prize, had not left Amelia be, but with this pact, there was a resolution of sorts. Even the Fae feared the monster she had bargained with, and the two came to an arrangement - until the spirit was done with her, there would be no more attacks. In turn, it would not intervene when the Fae came for her. It would be her battle.
When it was all said and done, Amelia had made herself ready to face her nightmares. Once the nameless entity released her from its protection, the Fae made plans in turns to finally claim their prize. Amelia gathered friends and allies in turn, made Pacts, and prepared herself for war.
Two sides were set on a collision course that culminated in the unthinkable - a Wild Hunt not only stopped, but destroyed. Amelia and her allies won a costly, desperate victory. The Lord of Hunts, the Fae who lead the hunt against her, was broken and imprisoned in the Tower of Cages by the Countess of Cages and Chains.

by Pixabay

Walkers

Those who walk between worlds, explorers of secrets, the meddling teenagers of the supernatural world, Walkers is really a term for anyone who makes a regular habit of hopping between realities. Most spellcasters walk between worlds, but Walkers make it a full-time occupation. With so many secrets to find and so little time, they rarely stay still for long.
Amelia is one of the Walkers, but after her last stint in the Faelands, not a very active one. For now, she's content to nurture her Art and hang out with friends and lovers.

The Wild Hunt

When the fae-mists shroud the world and the wall that shields the Prime weakens, the Wild Hunt ride among mortals. A rare occurrence of Fae organized for a singular purpose, the Wild Hunt selects prey and hounds them to their death, either for sport, avenging some slight, or extinguishing something deemed unworthy of life.
Fae being Fae, they are thankfully distracted from their mission with some frequency.

Faelands

Fae lives in the part of the Beyond called the Faelands, a kingdom of wonder and nightmare they've carved from magic and dying gods.
It is a realm of horror and magic, of majestic wonder and terrors not found anywhere else. Within primordial would and industrial nightmares of pipes and choking gas, the Fae hold court and drown their boredom. Rare among mortals, Amelia has been there at least twice - once as prisoner, once as guest.

First Walk

The First Walk is a initation rite among Walkers, where they go to somewhere fancy to whet their appetites of the wonders of magic. After that, they're off into the magical world as full-fledged Walkers, ready to stick their nose where it doesn't belong.
It isn't unheard of for Walker-apprentice to already have ventured far into the Beyond, as was the case with Amelia, but it does complicate things.

And as these things always do, something went wrong during Amelia's First Walk.

The Countess

A powerful Fae, the Countess of Cages and Chains is a complicated part of Amelia's relationship with the Fae. She is a striking, unreal beauty, a being of control and subjugation, and a cunning player of the many-layered games the Fae play among themselves.
Once an enemy, now an ally and occasional lover, the Countess has ended any schemes of retribution against Amelia by other... For the time being.

To the capricious Fae, it was a delightful twist to end the tale. To Amelia, it was a chance to finally find peace. For a time, she would find it.

Current

You know, I think it turned out alright in the end.

— Amelia Korp

Much more happened between then and now. Amelia has been to the Faelands, this time voluntarily, fought other battles and uncovered other secrets. Now, with the worst out of the way, she's taking some time for herself. She has come to terms with her scars and accepted them as another part of her. Though the things she has seen and done still darken her mood and her dreams are still stark and fantastical, Amelia is in a better place.
She's opened a store from where she sells art and other trinkets, sometimes custom orders by other Magi. It's enough to keep her afloat and has earned her a reputation as someone who can create wonders. The store itself is small, cramped, and filled with art, oddities and curiosa all of her own makings. Stuck between an old bookshop and a cafe, a short descent down, the shop offers all the curious a trove of oddities, everything from clothes to metalwork to the less easily defined eccentricities.
Though not the greatest witch, Amelia has picked up several tricks that give her magical craft a unique flair. Chief among them is her art and crafting.

That, and fighting dirty.

Perhaps due to the lingering Fae-hexed scars and the fantastical dreams they cause, Amelia is a rare artistic talent. She paints so vividly that the figures almost seem imbued with a sense of motion or life, or a spark of creation that makes them more than just colors on canvas. Frequently morbid, dark, and wondrous, the same spark gives Amelia an almost predictive ability and has become a sort of divination. Though she can't tell the future, she can paint to reveal a person's true soul or the essence of a scene. It is unpredictable and frequently beyond her control - Amelia herself describes it as 'inspiration' striking. In more refined magi circles, the paintings carry value beyond monetary.

Since her Wild Hunt days, Amelia's picked up a number of other crafts. She smiths blades and makes clothes, tinkers with gemcutting, and so on. Though limited by money, these are excellent items to use for enchanting and artifice.

Amelia bears the favor of the Countess - a powerful brand and blessing that allows her to tap into a source of wild fae magic when needed. Chains cannot strike or constrain her, and cages fail to hold her - both things occasionally hard to explain.

For now, Amelia is content to pursue knowledge at her own pace, and not hounded by howling fiends out for blood. It's a wide-open magical world out there, and she sees wonder everywhere. There's a lot to do, a lot to learn, and for once, there's hope.

...And who knows what'll happen next, huh?

— Amelia Korp, Maybe Wondering If There Will Be A Sequel

by InkMonsterDraws (Commissioned)