Duss (oo like in wood)
CW: war, desertion, unexplained disappearance, magic gone awry, fighting among friends, prison, permanent scars,
Duss has never been able to leave well enough alone. When a magic surge opened a portal to the Feywild inside of a Sodden Shrine, she couldn't possibly be expected to resist.
She found herself on the outskirts of a bullywug kingdom and managed to impress His Amphibious Majesty King Grungennenos, Mudlord of the Weeping Moss, Defender of Grungennenos Tower, and Ambassador-in-the-Muck to the Unseelie Court. For a time she served as court musician and was an honorary member of the magicians' guild. But King Grungennenos was already at odds with The Murkstress. With Queen Maev bound by the Treaties of Exile and unable to intervene, soon the two factions went to war and Duss' comfortable life at court was upended. She marched with the guild, but ran before the fighting began. Later, she heard Grungennenos' army narrowly lost the battle and still wonders if she would have been able to turn the tide.
Duss followed the river to the coast, where she joined a party of adventurers seeking the wreck of The Taste of Strawberries Almost Remembered. During their search, she and the wizard Aronin fell in love. On discovering the wreck, they learned the curse that sent it to the deep was no less malevolent for all the aeons it had lain under the fey waters. Despite the protestations of the rest of the party, Duss convinced Aronin to help her fight the curse with their own magic. They were successful at a cost: when the sand settled, the remains of the ship were scattered, and Aronin was gone.
Of the three remaining party members, only one defended her. The others blamed her for Aronin's disappearance as well as the destruction of the Taste. Duss left them on the coast and began searching for Aronin on her own. The investigation led her to the Unseelie Court where she once again plied her musical talent to charm the courtiers. Desperate, she pushed someone too important too far and was imprisoned within Shadow's Masque.
After three cycles of whatever the fae use to measure the passage of time, such as it is in the Land of Dreams, Duss escaped. Just as she left the bounds of the Unseelie Court's jurisdiction, she swam beneath a rusted arch, and right back into the shrine she had originally entered. Though more than a century had passed for Duss, not a day had gone by on the Prime; the wardens were only just arriving to monitor the portal and close it when necessary.
After all she had been through, Duss couldn't bring herself to go back. She left that night, seeking nothing but adventure, and perhaps her absent lover. Of course, she has no idea what may be seeking her in return.
Personality
The only constant in Duss' life has been change. Her parents, concerned about the slow growth of their settlement, planted more children than would normally be reasonable. The extra hands helped for a time, but eventually the settlement came to hold more than the environment could support. Duss' family left for a nearby village with a much smaller population.Only a few years later, much earlier than most Zekke, Duss left on her {SENDOFF} with the oldest of her siblings. Just a few years after that, Duss encountered the Feywild portal.
She's never had trouble making friends and never felt particularly out of place, but Duss has also never had a compelling reason to stay in any given situation. While she genuinely believes in the Preserve and its mission, she also believes the duties thereof are more suited to others. Duss feels the world would be a better place if everyone cared a little less about responsibility and a little more about uncovering new things.
To that end, she has no real goal at the present except to experience as much of the world as possible. Even with regard to Aronin she has no conscious intention. Duss has already lost so much in searching for Aronin, all to no avail. Who does it help for her to lose more?
Presentation
The vines comprising Duss' body are a deep, almost black, green and are in near-constant motion. The tiny ones wrapped tightly to create a face have grown looser since leaving the Wild, giving her a wizened appearance. Her eyes are small, glowing points and her lips are a pair of fuller, broader vines. Tiny white flowers with a gentle, sweet scent sprout along her limbs and across her back. Springy moss hangs like hair from the top of her head, and spongey lichen grows between the flowers. She wears black and yellow snakeskin togas draped to both allow the flowers to grow, and hide the withering scar across her abodmen from the costly curse. Atop it all sits a yellow cloche hat with blue and green feathers. The hat had once cursed a bullywug coutier, who let her keep it once she helped break the curse.Most of her accoutrements are hung on the ends of her vines, from her travelling pack to the various trinkets she's acquired in her adventures. A finely braided rope is tied around her waist and holds an axe, the head of which has been replaced with an oxidized copper cage with a tiny amber bird inside.
Duss' energy is uncontained and unconcerned, and she carries herself like a person who has never been hurt.
Casting Style
The magic that infused Duss upon entering the portal is muddy and wet. Her spells cover everything in rich mud, and when she taps into the unique well of magic within, another patch of lichen grows on her body. The amber bird chirps to accompany the verbal components of spells. Greens, golds, browns, and deep blues generally color her magic, and common motifs include strange flowers, ancient fish and birds, and rust.Much of her magic involves battlefield and environment control, so Duss positions herself to have the best vantage of the area.
Ethnicity
Age
205
Children
Pronouns
she/her
Presentation
femme
Eyes
yellow, gently glowing
Hair
brownish green moss, springy and coiled
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
deep green with patches of lichen and small white flowers
Height
1.7m
Weight
dense, heavier than she seems
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