Novus
an equine & cervidae rpg
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Novus closed 10/31/2022, after The Gentle Exodus
Ambrose
Day Court Youth
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Age:

Immortal [Year 506 Spring]

Gender:

Male

Pronouns:

He/Him/His

Orientation:

Undiscovered

Breed:

Holsteiner/Iberian X

Height:

15.2 hh

Health:

12

Attack:

8

Experience:

16
Offline

Last Visit:

02-16-2024, 04:36 PM

Joined:

07-28-2020

Signos:

270 (Donate)

Total Posts:

9 (Find All Posts)

Total Threads:

2 (Find All Threads)

somewhere in you there's a power with no name

species; pegasus
breed; holsteiner x iberian
eyes; royal gold
coat; amber champagne dun
scent; sand and sun, paper and ink

Out of the two of us, I definitely look more like our mother—if you stand me next to her at least. If you ignore my wings, of which I have a double pair; perhaps the only thing that I can say I was given instead of my sister. If you ignore my tail, which looks as though it belongs to a lion, or a unicorn. In either case, something more graceful and more powerful than I.

I am a dun, which I think is what makes me look the most like mom. The darkening of my legs down to my hooves, the stripes crisscrossing at my knees and hocks, across my withers. My tail—that long leonine tail—is striped, as is my forehead. But I do not look like forged iron, or refined silver, as she does. I do not look like stone, like marble, as my sister does. I am warmer than both of them, more like the color of the Mors, like my blacks and greys and whites have been merged with the golden sands and suns.

Ah, and my hair. My hair is dark, mahogany, though lighter at the roots. It’s average in length, I would say, and when not covered with my wrap often littered with loose, unwinding plaits. Mom braids it a lot, often without noticing, I think. I leave them, let them fall out in their own time. I think that it calms her to braid, even if she does it without realizing; even if her magic does it for her.

My eyes are golden, where my sisters are blue. In that, we have both gotten a piece of our mother to carry with us forever. They are perhaps the only unnerving things about me; sharp, bright, striking. Like a predator’s eyes. Only I am not a predator, and I could never do them justice.

So little is unusual about me. So little is not average. I think, perhaps, at first glance I could be seen as something special, though not quite as god-given as my sister. Never as statuesque, never as eternal or otherworldly, but something not quite just of our mother. Diana is the firstborn, the eldest. The wildest. Perhaps I was simply an afterthought. Perhaps I am only made of the things that were left over after she was complete.

and you can be stronger than anything you know

scholarly, quick-learner, sociable, observant, inquisitive, philomathic
persistent, analytical, pragmatic, overcautious, passive

You would think by looking at me that the desert loves me—and it does, but not as much as it loves my sister. It loves me more as a pupil than a child, as though it is always trying to teach me something I haven’t learned yet. I have learned so many lessons from the desert; perhaps one day I will be able to write them all down, store them in a place of safe-keeping. For now they are in my head. Always in my brain. Everything I have ever learned, heard, seen, is there in my brain.

Sometimes, I look at the way the desert loves my sister and I am jealous. I am jealous of the way all of its beasts and wild things become tame in her presence. I am the one who looks like I was born from the desert sands and yet they embrace her so willingly, so lovingly. I love my sister, I love my sister, but sometimes I wish she hadn’t turned out so exceptional.

No, that’s not right. Sometimes I wish I had turned out more like her. Sometimes I wish I could be bolder. I wish that I could face down the unknown without a fear or a care in the world. But the desert has taught me many lessons, and the biggest one of all is caution. I will never take a step without thinking twice about where my hoof may fall. Will the ground be steady under me? The desert is never steady under me.

I wish I could be more like Diana.

My books and my studies make me feel safe. I learn everything that I can, because what I do not know could hurt me, or my sister, or my mother. What I do not know is dangerous, and what I do know will help me be better. I will never stop learning, as long as the desert, the world has things to teach me. I will learn whatever I can.

There are times where I am okay being myself. When I am just me, just Ambrose, the sky and the clouds hold me close and I can convince myself that everything will be okay. That it will be alright to reach out to that equine I do not know, without overthinking what I will say first. That I will not be judged for the way that the desert does not love me quite as much as it loves my sister.

Even though I wished it did. Oh, how I wished it did.

If the desert loved me a little more like a child and not as a student, perhaps I would be stronger. Swifter, braver. Not quite as likely to be pushed around, or walked all over, or afraid. But I am not my sister; I am me. Just me, only Ambrose, and I spend too much time in my books, even though I love every word I read, even though I absorb it all eagerly. But I will keep pushing forward, because maybe one day I will learn what it is to be fearless.

hold on to what you see, don't let it go

I have always remembered the smallest things, down to the tiniest details. The first time I ever set foot in the temple at the peak of Veneror, and how our mother told us we were created. How she told us that we were not a product of something intimate, but else.

Like how my sister fell asleep in a rattlesnake nest, and never stopped taming Solterra's worst creatures. Like how I have always felt as though I am missing a part of myself, even though I know what it is. Even though I pretend that I don't.

I have always remembered the smallest things, down to the tiniest details. That is why I can tell you that the first time I ever set foot on the peak of Veneror; the first time I ever looked at the statue of Solis and heard that I was just a blessing, I knew I would spend my life searching for something I didn't have: a father. I knew I would spend my life yearning, because now I can never forget that he doesn't exist.

Active & Parvus Magic

Literary Animation

I have always been more comfortable with my books, my studies. Math variables, epics, languages, diagrams. They’re so much easier to understand than the rest of the world, than others are. When I have nothing else, when I feel alone, I know I can always turn to the texts and writings I keep. They will always be there for me. Perhaps that is why the first time I brought something to life from out of my books, I wasn’t as surprised as I should have been.

Make no mistake about it: the things my magic forms from text are real, be it beast or object. As real as me, or you. The animals will eat, they'll breathe, but they can also be killed. A necklace will gleam in the sun, a weapon will slice or stab, but they can be tarnished, broken. Real, but not invincible. And the only trouble with a magic that relies on books? They can be heavy and difficult to transport. The only trouble with paper? It is vulnerable, and impermanent.

I. DISCIPULI

Literary Animation is, at its foundation, a very simple idea. In practice, it is much more difficult than it sounds. At first, I can only bring things to life if they are already pictured in the text. Children’s books, scientific diagrams, anything with a nice clear image—if an animal or an item is drawn for me then all it takes is a little bit of concentration, a little bit of magic and I’ve got a living version of whatever was in front of me. The more detailed the illustration, and the more familiar I am with the animal or object, the easier it is for my magic to bring it to life as it has more to work off of. However, the larger and more involved the item or creature, the more energy it requires to make, which can leave me visibly tired or with a headache.

II. VEXILLUM

With a little more practice, I’ve managed to move past just simple images. At least, I can now bring to life things that are perhaps incomplete or poorly depicted. My magic and my skill are better at filling in holes and nudging the shape where it needs to be in order to resemble something real once it steps out of the paper. I can also decipher and animate some texts, where things are detailed plainly and completely. Educational texts, compendiums, reference materials; all resources that contain sufficient amounts of descriptive information to be fuel for my magic. The more complicated the description, the more likely something is to go wrong. Perhaps it won't come out alive, or an object won't be shaped quite right. And if I have already wasted my energy on a failed first go, I will not be able to do it again immediately.

III. PERITI

Animating from an illustration takes nothing more than a simple thought these days, and while a more detailed writing will often result in a more flawless result, I have gone beyond these simple materials. I have always been comfortable in learning, in knowledge. I am no stranger to obscure texts, to long-winded passages that, to most, would make little sense. It is from these older, more historical, more foreign writings, that I now animate. Perhaps I use a little more imagination to aid my magic along. Perhaps there’s a few more gaps to fill than usual, but I am so much more prepared to do it now. Still, creating multiple things takes great focus, and if my focus is broken I lose valuable time and energy in the animation, which I must recuperate. In that case only some may be complete, some failed, some not at all.

IV. DOMINUS

You’re probably wondering, where do I go from here? How much farther can I go, from texts written so long ago that pieces of them are quite literally missing? The answer is, inside. Illustrations, simple texts, obscure texts, foreign texts all animate at my wish. I can bring to existence the smallest of creatures to the largest of beasts, the simplest of trinkets to the most intricate weapons. So I go deeper, I challenge myself further. A scroll referenced in an archaic text, about a strange creature that swims in the sand like it is the sea? My magic wants that, and it can animate it, too. As long as I have the text, as long as I have my focus. Without those things, I have nothing.

PARVUS

It's a small thing, really. Certainly nothing ground-breaking, or awe-inspiring—some would even call it a party trick or an illusion, under other circumstances, perhaps. When I am reading or describing something in a piece of printed material, letters and images will often float away from the page and into the air around me. If anything, it makes a typical story time, and my austere studies, much more interesting.





Passive Magic





Bonded & Pets

Dandelion, the Sky Lion

Don't let his name fool you, for Dandelion is a beast with impressive stature. Easily standing 7 feet tall at the shoulders, not to mention the added height of his expansive wings when they are fully open, he certainly gives off an impression of a lion that you do not want to mess with. His thick frame and heavy mane add to the overall look of someone that could crush you if he sat on you, and if you bothered him enough he probably would.

Where he differs from typical lions (aside from the wings, of course), is his beautiful ivory coat. In the sun his fur and feathers almost look like they're glowing from within. More than that, he speaks. An effect of his creation, animated from a character in one of Ambrose's story books, he brought that small ability with him. And shockingly he is an irritable, stern beast, that Dandelion. He would sooner scold than coddle you, especially if you have a funny thing to say about his name. Though, he does have a soft spot in his heart for children, and young Ambrose who he views as needing guidance.

Another ability that Dandelion brought with him from the book is his ability to empower those around him with his support enhancement. Physical skills, mental stamina, magical strength, etc are all examples of performances he is able to enhance for a specific target of his choosing. Though, he might be hard pressed to actually perform such an act, the grouch that he is.

Size Comparison





Armor, Outfit, and Accessories

the second blessing

Much like the rest of him—or so he might say—Ambrose wears a rather unextraordinary wrap. Sage green, loosely twined about his head and neck, with slits for his ears to fit through. The ends of the scarf-like accessory are tucked within its folds, preventing them from being pulled upon, whether by desert winds or other forces.




Agora Items & Awards



(View All Items)




Miscellaneous



Cats.

Played by:

Katherine (PM Player)

DeviantArt:

nocturnalowlet    //   

Discord:

Katherine#9535

Staff Log




Saved incentives/prizes: None.



10/23/20 Character application approved & given +20 signos for visual ref. Accessory, immortality, fantasy bonded & active magic approved upon acceptance -LAYLA
10/23/20 +3EXP for gaining interactive agora items (active magic, immortality & fantasy bonded) -LAYLA
12/20/20 +1EXP for visiting on Dec. 20th of advent calendar. -LAYLA
12/26/20 +2EXP for visiting on Dec. 25th of advent calendar. -SID