[OOC NOTE: THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL DOCUMENT, is subjective IC information, and while available to everyone, is not mandatory reading.]

What are the orbs?

The orbs are powerful magical artifacts- sapient, as such things generally are, that crave chaos and operate through bargains, having somewhat less power when acting of their own accord. They are parts of a single, greater whole, one that was shattered, and then scattered to many different places.

Each of us has made a bargain with them, providing our time and effort to make them whole, in exchange for our greatest regret being undone. Even if you didn't fully understand what you were doing, that contract still binds you, unless you choose to revoke it. And even that may not be enough.

What do they want?

The orbs want chaos. What this means in terms of our bargain is... well, I will quote Viveca's words on this.

"Do you know how much chaos in the fabric of time and space it creates to have you here? If you bargained your life, you would die and that would be it. But by coming here, and staying here — the Orb can't ask for more than that. You're already giving it all the chaos it wants.

You are causing a disturbance to your timeline by exiting it to be here, which is the worst kind of chaos you can create. It isn't anything harmful, but it isn't supposed to happen, and that is the essence of chaos."

This suggests that the chaos the orbs create and desire is a defiance of either fate or the natural order of things. For most orbs, the suffering caused is a side-effect, rather than the goal. They operate through bargains, and have relatively little power outside of these, beyond reaching out to people to make offers and corrupting their surroundings.

The orbs seek chaos through means overt and subtle- the first one we collected extracted its payment by turning people into monsters, the second empowered the leader of a criminal gang, the third spread a sleeping curse through a kingdom thanks to a poorly worded request, and the fourth tormented a man who lost everything, before trying to get itself into the hands of a bandit leader. One of the orbs on the fifth mission got itself into the hands of a false god that intended to destroy the world.

The orbs also want to be whole. This is to our advantage, as it leads them to be somewhat cooperative at times, and can sometimes protect us from the effects of other bargains. However, this doesn't mean they like us, or that they can ignore the rules of their existence.

Please remember that while sapient, the orbs are not remotely human, and do not view things in the same way as us. Trying to appeal to their conscience, or attempting to develop any sense of friendship with them, is not going to succeed.

It is possible for us to strike a separate bargain with individual orbs, as our bargain to undo our regrets is with the orb as it will be, unified and made whole.

The individual orbs lack the power of their greater whole, and you will need to pay a price- but if you do, what you're bargaining for will be granted immediately. Said bargains are irrevocable once concluded. Be precise in how you phrase both your wish and what you are offering in exchange- some orbs are more malicious than others, but they do keep their word.

A final note: while you are under no obligation to get anyone's permission or inform the crew of your bargain, I would suggest speaking with everyone beforehand to see if there are any alternatives. The orbs are not kind, and their prices are high- dealing with them in such a way should be a last resort.

Viveca and Degar

You will probably interact with Viveca on occasion, and while we're not on missions, you can talk to her through the earpiece. You can request items from her, including ones from home, and ask for further information on the orbs. She seems to respond to the best of her ability, although she will not volunteer information, and there are some things she doesn't know.

She's an AI, which is a kind of spirit made through technology. She lost her body, because of the orb, but she's gotten another one back. She's probably about as trustworthy as Degar.

Degar is the commander. He mostly stays in the North Wing of the station, which is normally sealed off. We were allowed in once- the orbs are being kept in a magical containment field which he sustains, and there are signs that there were once other crew members living there. What happened to them is unclear, but seems to have happened before any of the current crew arrived.

He acts flippant, but is a powerful mage. Don't underestimate him. It's his spell that's keeping the orbs contained. Also, he's a skilled musician!

There is also Olivia. At one point, she was the station's AI, but was corrupted by the orbs before our arrival. Her actions led to the death of all of the previous crew, save for Viveca and Degar. She was thought to have been deleted, but survived, and has since been quarantined in a mechanical body. The hope is that we can restore her to her previous state eventually, but right now she is untrustworthy.

If she asks you to do anything, please inform someone else- preferably Viveca or Degar- before doing it. Or perhaps, don't do it at all.

Questions, and possible trends

Many of the orb's possessors have been powerful mages. It's unclear whether this is due to the orb's machinations, or if such people are more likely to be able to identify the orb's power and seek it out.

The Badrock and Braccia orbs were both originally found in mines. (Does this hold true for all unclaimed orbs?) The orbs in E23-b, Novis Nox, and Xrisora were also all first discovered underground. However, the Ciraiwei orb was found in a flower. This is a pattern, and may be useful in cases where there's no sign of anyone using an orb.

So far, all missions save Noth 11X8 and brought us to populated worlds, and a majority of missions saw us visiting populated areas. Are orbs naturally drawn to such worlds and places thanks to a high number of potential bargainers, or is it part of the nature of the chaos they seek?

The orbs have generally fulfilled their primary bargains in a way that left the bargainer satisfied. Even Welford Branson was happy, while the illusion lasted. Is this a true limitation, or just a sales tactic? Given what we saw in Xrisora, it's a sales tactic- Xoria regretted her wish as soon as she made it.

Degar and Viveca are being honest about their general purpose, even if they're vague on the details.

What happened to the earlier crew? This has been answered- the orb escaped containment thanks to Olivia, and corrupted one of them, leading to a conflict that led to their deaths, and the orbs being scattered.

Where did the orb come from, and how was it broken? Why did it happen twice?

Anything we can learn about the orbs, and the rules they operate by

List of orbs, bargains made, methods of recovery, and other notes

And attached are the official files on all the missions.

Gyeonje orb

Initially in possession of Gyeonje's ruler, Lord Suk-Ju. He traded away Gyeonje's Outer District in exchange for the rest of the city having wealth and prosperity, while those in the outer district were infected with a magical plague that twisted those infected into monsters, affecting both body and mind.

The orb was then stolen by So-Yeon, a young woman from the outer district, who made a bargain to counteract the plague. What she offered- seems to have been herself. She had the orb inside her body, and it hollowed her out until by the time she gave it to us in exchange for us creating a cure, she appeared to fade from existence.

What we learned:

-the orbs operate through bargains
-Rulers can offer their land and people in bargains with the orb, but orbs will not request something that is not the bargainer's to give (by the orb's standards, anyway).
-The orb-created plague responded to spells made to counter magical corruption, rather than mundane illness.
-Helping whoever has the orb with their problems was an effective strategy this time.

Braccia Orb

Found in the mines beneath the city centuries before our arrival, the orb was held by one Cheruvia. The bargain made was unclear, but appeared to involve killing others in order to add their magic and lifespan to her own. She was unable to use this power on crew members- the orb claimed that doing so would not add to the chaos, and it wished to be whole.

We tried stealing the orb, having learned in the previous mission that we would be brought back to the station as soon as we had the orb... only to instead have a building collapsed on our heads while we played keep-away with the orb. Eventually, Cheruvia decided the orb wasn't worth the likely death of either her or her lover, and gave up on recovering it, at which point we returned to the station.

What we learned:

-We can't just steal the orb. If someone's made a contract with it, the contract needs to be ended.
-If we have to fight an orb holder, we should bring as many strong fighters as possible

Kilnan orb

This orb was in the custody of Remi, a powerful illusionist, and brother of the queen of Kilnan. More than any other individual, I believe he understood the most what he was dealing with when he made his bargain. He offered half his magic, in exchange for saving his niece- only for that magic to end up inside the girl, forcing Remi to feed the orb magic every month. We ended this bargain by feeding magic to the orb, enough to fulfill Remi's end of the bargain, at which point he happily gave us the orb. The orb had spread a sleeping curse through the realm, after 'creatively' interpreting one of Remi's orders.

I will note that while Remi did not regret the bargain he made, granting his niece that power caused trouble, as her mother sought to use her as a weapon in her wars against a neighboring country.

What we learned:

-it is possible for others to help pay the price of a bargain. It is unclear if the orb holder's cooperation is needed for this.
-again, cooperating with the orb holder proved to be a good idea.

Badrock orb

This orb was the cruelest one we've encountered. A little over a year before our arrival, the town of Scorpion's Bend was annihilated a pulsefire storm, annihilating every living thing, body and spirit, save for one Welford Branson, who had hidden deep in the mines. Shortly afterward, Branson made a bargain with the orb. 'Reality erased, for the low, low price of having to live with what happened forever, should reality return.' to quote the orb itself.

So Branson lived in this simulation of the town, in which only his close family seemed to display much personality, quite happily for a year- until we arrived in search of the orb, and our investigations inadvertently triggered the clause in the bargain- forcing Branson to recall what really happened, leaving all of living in a ghost town as Branson fled. The orb then drew bandits to the town- the same ones who had massacred it the year before. During the fight, we were able to find Branson and recover the orb- and it turned out that he'd become unable to die, forced to live forever with what happened.

This orb was the cruelest we've encountered so far, and the most talkative. It seemed to view the entire thing as a kind of game, and claimed it was bored.

What we learned:

-Some orbs are exceptionally cruel.
-For some bargains, the price is a condition that if fulfilled, ends the contract and imposes some consequence on the one who made the bargain. It is unclear if all bargains have such clauses.
-The orbs cannot or will not end contracts on their own, although they may reach out to others with the potential to do so.
-The 'people' populating Scorpion's Bend could not be read telepathically, and most outside of Branson's family displayed little true personality, instead repeating routines and conversations if not word-for-word, then very closely. The food lacked any true substance or taste, and orb-created documents in the town were gibberish. It is unclear if these reflect limitations of the orb's power, or if it just didn't care and knew Branson wouldn't notice.
-If one of the crew dies, it is possible for them to be resurrected by someone with the power to do so. However, the orb will extract a price from both resurrector and resurrected.

Giva orb

There were two orbs this time. The crew was sorted into two realms, Taeum and Sedorum. Supposedly, these were for good and sinful souls, respectively, but people could buy their way into Taeum, and many souls in Sedorum had committed no sin other than being poor and unable to pay bills and debts. Both realms allowed people to indulge freely in their vices, and both realms were led by leaders who did not care about their people. In retrospect, we should have seen this as significant.

One orb was held by Entr'i, Sedorum's minister of war, who sought to merge the two realms, creating a fairer afterlife, having stolen it after attacking the Highest One some time ago and then fleeing to Sedorum. The other orb was held by the Highest One, Taeum's leader. Who it turned out, was also 'Him', the leader of Sedorum. V'Rizz, the Chief Minister of Sedorum, was also involved in the deception, and had helped reshape Giva's religion to his master's design a century earlier. It became apparent that V'Rizz and his master were plotting against Entr'i, hoping to use the war to kill her and her supporters, and retrieve both orbs.

It is not entirely clear what the Highest One was planning, just that it would have resulted in the destruction of Giva, and using both orbs to return to wherever he came from. Fortunately, Entr'i's earlier actions, and our own, ended up disrupting his schemes, and he, along with V'Rizz, were killed (V'Rizz by us, the Highest One by Angriel, Entri's estranged lover who finally understood the Highest One's true nature), and Giva's afterlives became a single realm- Purgatory, which along with Long Cloak, did not deserve the awful reputation the locals had given them. But I suppose it is natural for the living to fear death and the unknown.

-There can be multiple orbs in a single mission.
-According to Yzak, the Highest One said "That's what we do, destroy planets." along with claiming that he needed both orbs to return to wherever he came from. (Another sign of the limits on the power of individual orbs)
-The Highest One wasn't from Giva or any of its afterlives- where was he from? Are there more like him out there?
-If a ruler has an orb, it's cause for deep concern (See notes from Gyeonje mission).
-Information and pictures from the earpieces cannot be easily shown or transmitted to anyone outside the crew.

Novis Nox Orb

Our shortest mission so far- and the one where we started furthest from the Orb. Most of the mission was a train ride between the cities of Craemore and Vrefesea, although this was interrupted by a murder, and two of our number being falsely accused. However, we were able to solve the murder, and we learned that one of our number was possessed by the Precursors- a parasitic hivemind that sends monsters called Kaiju to scour worlds clean, so they could take all their resources. The Precursors reached out to the orb, and used that connection to summon a small Kaiju, in an attempt to kill all of us and take the orbs for themselves. This plan failed, and the Kaiju was killed and the possessed crew member was subdued.

When we returned to the Ximilia, we used the connection the Precursors had established to both free said crew member, and shatter the Precursors' minds and memories, to stop them from seeking the orbs through other avenues, or preying on other worlds.

-In worlds that entirely lack magic, our abilities and any magical items will not work. We were warned ahead of time that this was the case.
-If Viveca is confident that the orb is in a particular location, that's probably where it is.
-More confirmation that the orbs can reach out to, and empower, people remotely. Yet another reason that stealing them without resolving their bargains is pointless.
-This was the third case of an orb having been originally found underground.
-Possession and mental connection to an outside force are a potential security problem.

E-23b orb

This is Viveca's homeworld- it turns out that she once had her own flesh and blood body, and was part of a group called the Fables fighting against the injustice of her homeworld. E-23b was technologically advanced, but suffering from both man-made and orb-caused damage to the environment. We worked with the Fables to liberate the prison camps, and get the people in charge out of power. Then, we located the orb and spent several weeks attempting to fix some of the damage to the world. However our use of force during the camps liberation did not endear us to the people of that world, and we were asked to leave. The orb was in one of the camps- at the bottom of a reservoir, at the epicenter of an earthquake. The orb was spreading a toxin that had similar traits to the infection in Gyeonje, although this time it sickened and killed, rather than transforming.

-Keeping our abilities secret is advisable, as those unused to such powers may be frightened.
-If we're working with people, and they ask us not to kill their enemies, don't kill them. Even if you think they deserve it.
-If all else fails when locating the orb, look underground at the epicenter of strange events.

Xrisora Orb
This mission took place underwater- Degar put together a spell to change our forms, so we could blend in and not drown. This mission involved several weeks of relaxation as the inhabitants prepared for a festival, but things went far, far north when it became apparent that the orb had previously been in the palace, but was currently missing, along with the queen and the princess. It turned out that the princess Xoria had thought the orb was a toy, and wished the queen (Her mother, Xephia) would disappear when she tried to take it away. Her attempts at undoing this failed, and she fled to the nearest settlement, the city of Gorgonion. There, we spoke with her, and the Queen Mother, Xemiane, made another bargain to bring Xephia back, at the cost of disappearing herself. Xephia gave us the orb- and letters from Remi and Aurelia. We had to fight giant crabs during this mission.

-Remi and Aurelia are still out there, traveling from world to world. Remi is a man with white hair, and Aurelia is a young woman with red h air. Remi was able to keep the orb from passively influencing things, but could not stop it from making bargains.
-The orbs will stick to the exact wording of wishes, even if the person making the wish didn't really mean it.
-Orb bargains cannot simply be backed out of- they need to be concluded. (Our bargain to undo our regrets may be an exception, but this is not certain.)
-Orbs can corrupt their surroundings, possibly by spreading/worsening illnesses, and by making creatures more aggressive and monstrous.
-the orb was originally found underground, in a sacred cave.

Forsythe Heights Orb

The orb was located in a town that appeared normal in most circumstances, but was heavily haunted, with many locations manifesting strange phenomena, including manifesting our own fears. We learned that there was a house, thought to be haunted, once owned by the Cooper family, but there was no record of any kind of tragedy that might have lead to a haunting. The Cooper family simply moved away, and the house was haunted after that. We also learned of 'Freddie', which appeared to be the ghost of a child, who simply wanted to play, and hand once been a friend of Sam Cooper.

- Freddie did not seem affected by methods normally useful against ghosts, leaving his true nature uncertain.
-The orb said it 'gave Freddie existence' Was he initially created by a wish made by Same Cooper, who was known to be interested in horror media? Freddie seemed to share those interests.
-The orb took the form of a VHS tape, and its bargain with Freddie appeared to be that it would bring Sam back, and he and Sam could play forever, as long as he watched the tape. Our choice to play it may have ended its bargain, as we were able to recover it as an orange sphere after playing it, while handling it in its previous form did not end the mission.
-This orb was generally talkative once found, and actively malicious.

Noth 11X8 Orb

This was the first and only mission to occur on a planet without any form of civilazion- or any sapient beings at all, though there was some highly aggressive wildlife.

-Not all of the crew was sent on this mission, due to an error
-Orb found in a volcano.
-Orb retrieved without issue.

Alydhion Orb

This is Degar's homeworld. This mission took over a month, and our abilties and forms were replaced with the magic and shapes of beings native to this world. Magic, in this world, was divided between different 'Classes' such as Bards, Clerics, Druids, and Paladins, to name only a few. The orb was known as an heirloom of the king, stolen years ago, as groups of adventurers sought to obtain it. Degar was part of one such group, along with his brother, among others, including Elia Roundtree, his brother's fiance. After his brother's death, his best friend Jun Shortaxe joined, and the group almost tracked down the orb. However, in that confrontation, Jun was badly injured, apparently by Elia's spell, and the group split up, with Jun gaining a reputation as a great hero.

In truth, Jun had made a deal with the orb, framing Elia for the attack. We only learned this when after following Jun to the place where he hid the orb, we learned that not only was Elia not at fault, but that Jun had a bargain in the orb and no intention of handing it over. The orb turned him into a dragon, but we were able to knock him out, and Elia was able to partially reverse the transformation, and bring his mother figure, Nina, to the area via portal to talk some sense into him. Jun was convinced to hand over the orb, and the mission concluded.

-The King made a bargain that affected the entire kingdom, but removing the orb from his possession ended the bargain. (So perhaps stealing the orb will be worth a try in future missions, if we're out of ideas?)
-Jun's bargain created portals that spat out monsters in the cave where he first contracted with the orb.
-Even without being in contact with the orb, Jun was able to use it to attack one of the crew, gravely injuring them. (So another risk of stealing a still-contracted orb.)

Ciraiwei Orb

This mission lasted 10 days, and we had less than half an hour to prepare for it. We were informed that the planet was on a collision course with an asteroid- one large enough to completely destroy the planet, which would be arriving 10 days after we did. We were able to locate the orb, and by contacting Remi and Aurelia, we managed to evacuate some of the planet's people, the Hivawei, and recover the orb.

However, despite our best efforts, we were not able to evacuate all of the Hivawei that wanted to leave. Many of them died with their planet's destruction.

-The means we used to reach Remi and Aureliah was one use only. We probably will not be able to contact them again, unless we devise some other method.
-If we had not spent so much time in E23-b, we may have had more time to help the Hivawei, and Viveca would have been able to get help from a nearby planet to evacuate them. In the future, we should keep in mind that dragging out missions may have consequences.
-The nature of our bargain with the orb interferes with any long range teleportation abilities we possess. The interference of other mages not among the crew can act as a loophole though.
-Remi was able to rescue Welford Branson, who is currently residing at Remi's castle.
-The orb was not in a bargain, and was found in a flower called the Lamawei, which had sprouted from the ground in a somewhat remote location. The Hivawei revered the Lamawei, but the orb had not gotten up to any mischief.

Ndiera Orb

This orb was in the Ndiera complex, a group of three planets surrounded by a field of particles known as 'ghost matter' that blocked abilities- or rather it did until ten years ago, when it mutated thanks to the orb, and began killing anyone who used their abilities- slowly, as their bodies begain attacking themselves. Our bargain offered us some protection- we were able to use our powers twice. The orb was being held by a man named Zandr, who was trying to reverse the mutation in ghost matter, to neutralize it. He was being opposed by the government, but with Emerton's help, we were able to assist him in accomplishing his goal.

Zandr had a bargain that was preventing those affected by ghost matter from dying, but was unable to cure them. The crew voted to leave rather than attempt to save them.

-Emerton was the first person we've encountered who was a former member of the crew. He probably won't be the last.

??? Orb

This orb was found on a past version of the station, and seemed to have been fragmented. Recovering it involved reliving our own and other memories- and those of the past crew.

To summarize, briefly, what we learned from those memories

-Olivia fell under the orb's sway, who then allowed the orbs to corrupt Emerton
-Emerton killed the rest of the crew, with Viveca and Degar the only survivors. This happened while there was only one orb remaining to be collected.
-During the mission to gather the last orb, Viveca sacrificed herself to stop Emerton.
-Then, Degar altered his regret- he chose to bring back everyone who died, at the price of remaining on the station for eternity.
-Viveca agreed to this as well, becoming the ship's AI in the process.
-At this point, something happened, and the orbs were scattered once again.


Missions, and how to prepare for them

Our shortest mission lasted several days- and most of them have been longer, often about two months. You will get some information on the world of the mission before arriving there, but it will be incomplete. Still, it will give you some idea of what to expect, and Viveca will highlight individuals who may be of interest- it is likely, but not certain, that one of them has the orb, or some connection to it, so working to investigate them is advisable.

Gather spare clothing, nonperishable food, and anything else you think you might need- missions generally take place in populated areas, but we nearly starved once, and no one wants to repeat that. Viveca will supply clothes for blending in if that's needed. We are not always given local currency, but have often found ways to earn it, and these jobs are often a valuable source of information. If such things don't appeal, take something valuable with you to sell. When we need to blend into a world, it's often helpful to collaborate with other crew members to put together interlocking cover stories. And remember- just because a world lacks advanced technology or knowledge of magic, it doesn't mean the people there are stupid. Be careful when using abilities or technology that are foreign to a world.

As we are teleported in, you will hear a voice, giving you instructions. That is the voice of the orb on that world, and if you want it to lend its power to undoing your regret, you must fulfill its request. However, there is no punishment for refusing to do so. It's acceptable to tell people what you were asked to do, and most of us will be happy to help you achieve it- we're all here because of our regrets.

I want to be clear that each mission has been very different- trying to describe a 'typical' one is difficult. The most I can say is that the first few weeks tend to revolve more around gathering information and locating the orb than dealing with serious danger.

However, many of our missions have involved combat in the latter stages- you do not have to fight, or learn how to, but prepare yourself for the possibility of it happening. Gathering information- whether through research, interviews, observation, or simple eavesdropping- is an important skill to focus on. Don't hesitate to be proactive- often, the most valuable information is be found by approaching individuals of interest, or seeking out things kept hidden. Just try not to get caught. It is important not just that we locate the orbs, but also understand what bargains have been struck with them and by who, and what was given in exchange- remember, we can't take the orbs unless their existing bargains have been ended.

If the one holding the orb is not some power-mad tyrant, then offering to assist them in whatever they're trying to do in exchange for the orb has proven effective on multiple occasions. Honesty is the best policy- be upfront about our mission, and what we are seeking to do. Make it clear that the orbs are dangerous, but don't exaggerate, or present us as more powerful than we truly are.

It is possible that during some future mission, mere persuasion will not be enough. However, torture is not an option and will not work. Setting aside the obvious moral issues, and that many of the orb's contractees have been too powerful to easily restrain, a contractee can use the orb to attack us even if it's not in their possession. And causing them great pain and fear is more likely to push them into making another bargain, rather than surrendering it.

Please understand that worlds are not in a state of equilibrium when we arrive- they have already been altered from their natural state by the orbs and the bargains made with them, and will be further altered by us ending the bargains and removing the orbs. None of us want to make things worse, but the very nature of our task means we will change worlds we visit- hopefully, for the better. Don't wring your hands too much about meddling.

Missions end as soon as the orb has been recovered and all its contracts ended. Once that happens, we are immediately teleported back to the station. If you wish to buy souvenirs or bid farewell to people you've met, do it before then.

Upon return, we will often eat a kind of greasy pie with cheese and tomato sauce called pizza (it's better than it sounds!), and watch movies.

OOC
Name: Sarah
Contact: sarahthesilent
Other characters: N/A

IC
Name: Sabriel
Canon: The Old Kingdom
Canon point: Post Sabriel (by about two weeks, so she's had a little bit of time to recover)
Age: 18

History: here

Personality:
Positive

Determined When Sabriel sets her mind on a task, she does not give up. Finding her father means trekking through a zombie infested kingdom, with an array of mundane and magical threats arrayed against her? She'll grit her teeth and keep going. Her father's dead and she needs to face off against a monster that her family's failed to kill for two centuries? She'll weep for her father, then jump into a magical paper airplane to go finish the job. Even when she is dying from being impaled the main thought in Sabriel's head is trying to defeat her opponent. It's not that she's ignorant of danger, free of doubt and uncertainty, or afraid of what might happen to her, but Sabriel either ignores her fear or uses it to push herself towards her goal.

Observant Sabriel pays attention. She has an excellent memory, and her magical training has emphasized spotting small discrepancies, often as a matter of survival. When she encounters a Charter spell she notices all the component marks, and when she encounters Mogget, a spirit that takes to form of a cat, she immediately spots that his shadow isn't always in the shape of a cat, and spots a Dead creature by noticing that a man is wearing oddly heavy clothing for being in a hot, crowded room. Even outside of more supernatural pursuits, Sabriel is fairly good at judging people's emotional states and the general vibe of a situation.

Compassionate For all that Sabriel can put up a stoic front, she cares deeply about people. From resurrecting a rabbit because a little girl was sad her pet died to immediately wanting to rescue children being used as bait for the Dead, when she sees someone in distress, Sabriel's first instinct is to help. Her time spent as a prefect, looking after younger students, makes this tendency especially pronounced with children. Sabriel's necromantic training means that she sees treating corpses respectfully as an act of compassion. Even when she's short on time, she'll try to administer the final rites so their bodies and spirits can't be enslaved and used for evil. For all that Sabriel knows intellectually that Death is a natural part of Life, she still finds people dying- particularly in ways that are unfair or avoidable- deeply upsetting. For all that the powers she uses can sometimes be outright horrifying, she isn't a cruel person.

Negative

Reckless The flipside of Sabriel's determination and compassion is that she can easily act without fully considering the consequences. For example, deciding that showing off her magic when surrounded by on-edge soldiers would be a good idea. Or sending a message to get her cousins to flood a major river without fully considering what that meant for everyone else until the water was rushing by. Or having to be restrained from jumping into a fight where she and her allies were vastly outnumbered and likely to lose because children were being enslaved and used as bait for the Dead. She's compassionate, but she'll focus on dealing with the immediate problem, rather than looking at the big picture or the consequences of her actions beyond "I'm helping someone". And even when she's aware of and acknowledges risks, she's still likely to take them, believing that it's better to do something rather than nothing.

Not as mature as she thinks she is while Sabriel is in some ways far more mature than other people her age, and is able to cope with death, danger, and horrific monsters just fine, in other ways, she's still clearly a teenager. Argue with her and she'll snap and roll her eyes, and she can be petty and snippy. She's prone to jumping to conclusions, and was ready to cry when she thought her crush was with someone else. She can be awkward in strange situations, and will lean on her etiquette training to try to disguise that, resulting in her coming off as an incredibly formal snob... or an upper class teenager out of her depth.

Naive Sabriel's training in both necromancy and general Charter magic has left her familiar with death as a general concept, and given her the capacity to deal with supernatural evil without blinking. But when it comes to more mundane evil, she's easily blindsided, and she hasn't seen or heard a human die before the events of Sabriel. While she's fought undead monsters before the start of the story, she never had to feel someone die or deal with fresh corpses until the events of her canon, and dealing with those things shakes her. She went to a fancy boarding school for upper class girls and it really shows. If she's annoyed with someone, she'll speak to them like they're a servant or an underclassman.

Powers/Abilities: Hoo boy. First, please note that I will be putting up a permissions post for her powers, and will plot with any potentially affected players before using them. I am totally fine with nerfing/adjusting them to fit the setting.

Sabriel's magical abilities can be divided into two categories- her necromancy, tied to her status as Abhorsen, and her Charter magic.

The Abhorsens are a magical bloodline, who carry one of the Great Charters in their blood. What Great Charters are is never exactly explained, but they are described as part of the Charter's foundation, and their destruction or corruption would weaken it. The Abhorsens have an affinity for Death, and are able to use both necromancy(a subset of Free magic) and Charter magic in their task of battling the Dead and Free magic creatures and sorcerers.

Free magic is... complicated, but the important thing to note is that it's chaotic, and that normally, it's inherently opposed to the Charter, making the Abhorsens unique in their ability to use both.

As Abhorsen, Sabriel is able to use necromancy in conjunction with Charter magic. Unlike Charter magic, necromancy relies on willpower channeled through music, and even without her bells Sabriel can exert a limited amount of influence over the Dead, can sense the presence and relative strength of Dead, and can detect where deaths have happened, whether those deaths were violent, and how long ago it happened. She can also determine if a corpse has been moved from where it died, as well as how long ago it died. Finally, Sabriel can also send her spirit into the realm of Death, leaving her body frozen solid until she comes back to it.

Death is a spiritual realm- no physical substance can enter it, and thus, nothing physical can be taken from it (With a handful of exceptions, namely one type of undead and apparently some types of magical artifacts, given how Sabriel's father sent her the sword and bells, although it should be noted these items aren't from Death, just passing through it.). Spirits may pass between it and Life, if they're able to fight the current, but Death itself is a cold, dangerous place. Its nine precincts hold a variety of dangers, with the one constant being the cold and the constant current, which tries to drag everything in Death to beyond the Ninth Gate, beyond which nothing returns.

Most of Sabriel's necromancy is worked through a set of seven magical hand bells, with their powers listed here.

Ranna is called the sleeper, and forces the listener to fall asleep.
Mosrael is called the waker, and in her own world, acts as a seesaw, pulling the listener into Life and dragging the ringer into Death. A bell Sabriel is highly unlikely to use.
Kibeth is called the Walker, and can grant freedom of movement, or force the listener to walk where the ringer wills- including commanding a spirit to walk back into Death. It also seeks to sound on its own, and can be hard to control.
Dyrim is called the speaker, and its powers are fairly straightforward- it can grant speech to those who have lost it, or take away the capacity to speak.
Belgaer is called the thinker, and can restore free will and memories, as well as restoring the personality a Dead spirit had in life. It can also be used to erase these, shattering minds and memories. Like Kibeth, it will try to ring on its own accord.
Saraneth is called the Binder, and binds the Dead to the ringers will. This is the bell Sabriel uses most often, binding the Dead to her will to force them to truly die.
Astarael is called the weeper, and when rung, sends all who hear it deep into Death- including the ringer. This is considered a weapon of last resort in canon and will only be used with prior communication with the mods, as part of a plot.


Charter Magic is the branch of magic Sabriel's likely to use most of the time. It's magic that's worked through symbols- they can be spoken, signed, whistled, written, or sometimes just visualized. It can be used for a lot of things, but it has some limitations, including: No space/time manipulation in general, no creation of matter, no unaided flight (although some mages have created magical aircraft, Sabriel does not have the knowledge), no shapeshifting (Again, technically possible, but Sabriel doesn't have access to this knowledge, and doesn't even know it exists). Mental manipulation seems to be restricted to calming people down and either erasing or manipulating recent (like, within a day or so) memories. Finally, Sabriel has some familiarity with weather magic, although her track record of using it is... mixed.

Charter Magic has other restrictions- Sabriel needs to visualize the symbols and mentally arrange them, meaning her magic isn't instantaneous and requires focus- and powerful spells take some time to cast. Break her concentration and the spell will fizzle out or go out of control. Also, powerful spells place a strain on her body- even with precautions, she'll exhaust herself after using a few, and without those precautions, she'll kill herself or be too drained to cast much magic for at least a week. Minor spells are less draining, but if she uses a lot of them, she'll eventually run out of energy. Sabriel can give this power to others via baptism, but they will need to learn and study, and even simple spells will be exhausting for them at first.

The spells Sabriel is most likely to use frequently include various forms of binding/warding, combat magic that includes both destructive force as well as incapacitating her opponents through either blinding, disorienting, or immobilizing them, and healing. Healing magic in the Old Kingdom universe is useful, able to purge drugs and poisons from the body as well as heal even life threatening injuries, but serious wounds require the person being healed to take a few days of bed rest or light activity afterwards, or the spell will be disrupted and the woulds will reopen. Sabriel cannot repair injuries that have already healed over but healed wrong, she can't fix chronic conditions, and her capacity to regrow lost tissue is limited to what the body can repair on its own- she can't regrow missing limbs or organs.

By using Charter magic to repair the body and necromancy to summon the spirit back, Sabriel can resurrect the very recently dead to true life. In canon, she's only done this once, on a bunny, but in theory she could do it to a person (And her father did something very similar to her when she was a baby)- she just feels she shouldn't, as it goes against her family's philosophy of making sure the dead pass on. This ability will not be used without significant prior plotting.

Both types of magic Sabriel uses have a tendency to make technology stop working, a tendency that grows more pronounced the stronger the magic used. Within Ximilia, this tendency will be restricted to only the strongest spells, the kind that will drain her to exhaustion with the use of only one or two. If people playing robots/cyborgs don't want to deal with this, I will run with an alternate interpretation- that if a character is metaphysically 'alive' magic will treat them as alive, rather than as technology. (So magic won't break them, healing spells will work on them, and they'll be able to learn how to use Charter magic).

Regret: Her classmates dying in the battle against Kerrigor. Given that she was the one who made the choice to ask for their help, Sabriel feels responsible for their deaths. It's unclear how many died, but I'd put the number at around fifteen out of the thirty-five girls she said had the skills to help them.

Inventory:
Her bells (powers detailed above, stored in a leather bandolier)
Abhorsen's sword (A longsword, imbued with spells to make it an effective weapon against the Dead and other supernatural entities. Also can be used as an aid to casting Charter Magic, like a magic wand you can stab people with.)
The Book of the Dead, a necromantic grimoire.
Two Charter magic spell books.

Sample: Here

Under construction

Name: Sarah
Age: over 18
Contact info: sarahthesilent @ plurk

Character: Sabriel
Canon: The Old Kingdom series.
Canon Point: Sabriel Chapter 20, just as she and Touchstone are entering the reservoir.
CRAU, Canon AU: N/A
Character age: 18

Canon Abilities/Powers: Hoo boy. First, please note that I will be putting up a permisions post for her powers.

Sabriel's magical abilities can be divided into two categories- her necromancy, tied to her status as Abhorsen (an Abhorsen, she insists), and her Charter magic.

The Abhorsens are a magical bloodline, who carry one of the Great Charters in their blood. What Great Charters are is never exactly explained, but they are described as part of the Charter's foundation, and their destruction or corruption would weaken it. The Abhorsens have an affinity for Death, and are able to use both necromancy(a subset of Free magic) and Charter magic in their task of battling the Dead and Free magic creatures and sorcerers.

Free magic is... complicated, but the important thing to note is that it's chaotic, and that normally, it's inherently opposed to the Charter, making the Abhorsens unique in their ability to use both.

As Abhorsen, Sabriel is able to use necromancy in conjunction with Charter magic. Unlike Charter magic, necromancy relies on willpower channeled through music, and even without her bells Sabriel can exert a limited amount of influence over the Dead, and can sense the presence and relative strength of Dead, as well as sensing where deaths have happened, whether those deaths were violent, and how long ago it happened. She can also determine if a corpse has been moved from its site of death, as well as how long ago it died. Finally, Sabriel can also send her spirit into the realm of Death, leaving her body frozen solid until she comes back to it, and will be deeply confused when she can't do this anymore.

Most of her necromancy, however, is worked through a set of seven magical hand bells.

Ranna is called the sleeper, and forces the listener to fall asleep.
Mosrael is called the waker, and in her own world, acts as a seesaw, pulling the listener into Life and dragging the ringer into Death. A bell Sabriel is highly unlikely to use.
Kibeth is called the Walker, and can grant freedom of movement, or force the listener to walk where the ringer wills- including commanding a spirit to walk back into Death. It also seeks to sound on its own, and can be hard to control.
Dyrim is called the speaker, and its powers are fairly straightforward- it can grant speech to those who have lost it, or take away the capacity to speak.
Belgaer is called the thinker, and can restore free will and memories, as well as restoring the personality a Dead spirit had in life. It can also be used to erase these, shattering minds and memories. Like Kibeth, it will try to ring on its own accord.
Saraneth is called the Binder, and binds the Dead to the ringers will. This is the bell Sabriel uses most often, binding the Dead to her will to force them to truly die.
Astarael is called the weeper, and when rung, sends all who hear it deep into Death- including the ringer. This is canonly a weapon of last resort and will only be used with prior communication with the mods, as part of a plot.


Charter Magic is the branch of magic Sabriel's likely to use most of the time. It's magic that's worked through symbols- they can be spoken, signed, whistled, written, or sometimes just visualized. It can be used for a lot of things, but it has some limitations. (no teleporting beyond making small nearby objects appear in her hands, (no space/time manipulation in general) no creation of matter, no unaided flight (although some mages have created magical aircraft, Sabriel does not have the knowledge), no shapeshifting (Again, technically possible, but Sabriel doesn't have access to this knowledge, and doesn't even know it exists). Mental manipulation seems to be restricted to calming people down and suppressing- but not erasing- memories, and putting in plausible fake ones to cover them up, or alternatively, just wiping out half a day of recent memories. Finally, Sabriel has some familiarity with weather magic, although her track record of using it is... uh, mixed.

Charter Magic has other restrictions- Sabriel needs to visualize the symbols and mentally arrange them, meaning her magic isn't instantaneous- and powerful spells take some time to cast. Break her concentration and the spell will fizzle out or go out of control. Also, very powerful spells place a strain on her body- even with precautions, she'll exhaust herself after using a few, and without those precautions, she'll kill herself or be too drained to cast much magic for at least a week. Also, Sabriel can give this power to others via baptism, with the details of that discussed in the FAQ.

The spells Sabriel is most likely to use frequently include various forms of binding/warding, combat magic that includes both destructive force as well as incapacitating her opponents through either blinding, disorienting, or immobilizing them, and healing. Healing magic in the Old Kingdom universe is useful, able to purge drugs and poisons from the body as well as heal even life threatening injuries, but serious wounds require the person being healed to take a few days of bed rest or light activity afterwards, or the spell will be disrupted and the woulds will reopen.

By using Charter magic to repair the body and necromancy to summon the spirit back, Sabriel can resurrect the very recently dead to true life. In canon, she's only done this once, on a bunny, but in theory she could do it to a person- she just feels she shouldn't, as it goes against her family's philosophy of making sure the dead pass on.

Both types of magic Sabriel uses have a tendency to make technology stop working, a tendency that grows more pronounced the stronger the magic used. If people playing robots/cyborgs don't want to deal with this, I will run with an alternate interpretation- that if a character is metaphysically 'alive' magic will treat them as alive, rather than as technology. (So magic won't break them, healing spells will work on them, and they'll be able to learn how to use Charter magic).

In terms of more mundane skills, she's skilled with a longsword, and seems to have some skills related to wilderness survival, including wayfinding and some knowledge of which plants are edible or have medicinal properties. She attended a fancy totally-not-English boarding school, and thus has a thorough grounding in etiquette that she feels free to ignore unless she's in an uncomfortable situation or has been confronted with a fancy party.

What is their greatest negative emotion towards an object, situation, or person in their past?: Anxiety and fear towards her father- or rather towards the fact that he's been trapped, and is likely to die if she does not rescue him, and her growing realization that she didn't know him nearly as well as she thought she did. By her current canon point, Sabriel has learned that she does not actually know her father's name- only his title, which will pass to her when her father dies, as well as her own ignorance about the Old Kingdom and her family's role in it. She insists that rescuing her father is the main thing that matters, that everything else is just a complication, and at her current canon point is walking into a situation that she knows is a trap and that she doesn't entirely have a clear way out of simply because her father doesn't have much time left. For all that Sabriel is familiar with the realm of Death, she doesn't have much experience with people dying- only the aftermath. And she's not coping well with the possibility of her only family member dying.

How strongly do they feel about the negative subject matter, on the scale of one to ten?: A seven. It's something her thoughts often drift to when she doesn't have anything to focus on, and it motivates most of her actions. Sabriel's initial impulse when anyone calls her Abhorsen is to correct them, and when she takes on her father's role to banish a Dead creature that has been feeding on villagers, her first thought is that her father would have done better when she isn't fast enough to save someone. Sabriel clings to the idea that she can save her father, and that once freed, he will be able to set things to right. Any suggestion that she is the current Abhorsen, or that it is too late to save her father, is met with stubborn denial, with Sabriel insisting at one point that her father is a necromancer, he can't be dead. This denial and fear pushes her to the point that when she is told her father is dead and would not wish for her to bring him back, she insists she could bring him back without hesitation, even though earlier on, performing a much smaller act of resurrection on a rabbit filled her with recrimination and dread, so it's safe to say that her feelings are strong enough to push her to do things she'd normally see as morally wrong.

What is their greatest virtue?: Her determination and willpower. Sabriel is strong willed and willing to take great personal risk to achieve her goal of rescuing her father... including setting out into the unknown territory of the Old Kingdom with only the vague idea of where she needed to go. Even after facing setbacks like getting chased by a powerful monster and crashing a magical aircraft into a sinkhole, Sabriel keeps going, even when terrified or utterly exhausted. Finding out that the Dead creature responsible for trapping her father is ancient, powerful, and ultimately responsible for most of the ills that have faced the Old Kingdom for the last two hundred years frightens Sabriel, but it doesn't make her reconsider her course of action. A day or two past her current canon point, she keeps going even in the face of her own death, accepting it as a necessary price to pay.

When dealing with others, Sabriel is generally courteous, but also direct about her goals, even if they express doubts, or worry that she's about to do something dangerous. Warnings won't dissuade her, although she will listen and if they're persuasive enough, they might convince her to be cautious, or try a different route her goal. If they're not... well, she'll be polite about it, but she'll make it clear she's going to go ahead with whatever she was planning to do anyway.

How aware are they of their virtue, on a scale from one to ten?: Six. A strong will is vital to practicing necromancy, and Sabriel knows she's good at necromancy, that she possesses both musical talent and (by implication) a strong will. 'What if I just gave up?' is never a question she seriously contemplates. She understands she's not easily dissuaded and doesn't let hardship stop her. If asked directly about whether or not she's strong willed, she'd answer yes with relatively little hesitation.

But at the same time, she wouldn't put 'determined' as anywhere near the top of the list of adjectives she'd use to describe herself, just because it wouldn't occur to her without prompting. She's more aware of her doubts and fears than the fact that she doesn't let them stop her.

Items:
The bells of necromancy, as detailed in the powers section, all stored in a leather bandolier.
Her sword- it's enchanted to harm the Dead and other supernatural entities, and can also act as a focus for her magic, like a sharp, pointy magic wand.
Charter magic spell book- not inherently magical, but instead listing Charter marks and how they can be used.

Samples: here, here here and here's her top level on the TDM.

There was a time when Sabriel might have been eager to see the inside of Cyberlife Tower. Her class had been to Detroit when she was thirteen, and they'd toured an android factory- or the part of it they showed to tourists, at least- and visited museums and art galleries and all the sorts of things Young Ladies ought to see, but weren't available in the small town of Wyverley, or in Bain.

But Sabriel wasn't here for a school trip. Recent events in Ancelstierre meant that with the sudden loss of all android soldiers meant that soldiers from the entirely human garrison at the Wall had been transferred elsewhere- which meant fewer soldiers watching the border, on top of the losses from Kerrigor's attack, and a necromancer had slipped across, making his way to the largest city that was close enough to the Wall that magic still worked- one that seemed rather different than how she remembered it.

But what was occupying most of her attention was the Cyberlife representative in front of her. Sabriel listened politely as the woman spoke about malfunctioning machines and simulated emotions and how things that weren't alive couldn't die, so why would a necromancer- and from the woman's voice it was clear she didn't believe such things were real- want with deactivated androids?

Sabriel stood up and shook the woman's hand, telling her she'd been very helpful without meaning a word of it, and headed out the office before pausing.

She sensed something ominously familiar- Death, and a recent one at that. She turned another corner, following the sensation as a hound tracked a scent, half-expecting someone to spot her, to see her in her armor and bells (security had made her check her sword at the front desk) and tell her she wasn't allowed to be here.

But no one came, and no one living was in the laboratory she went into- just a dead- (deactivated?) android on a table-or its head and torso at least, with panels on its chest removed to reveal tubes and biocomponents, and Sabriel felt she'd stepped into a morgue and found an autopsied body.

Sabriel was seized by a sudden impulse. If androids weren't alive, then she'd simply waste some time, but if they were... well, she'd have a source of information she could interrogate as she would any Dead spirit. And unlike the representative she'd just spoken to, she could force it to answer honestly and completely.

Decision made, Sabriel undid the straps and drew Saraneth from the bandolier. This far from the Wall, stepping into Death took a deliberate effort, but soon Sabriel was in the First precinct and she cast around with her senses, trying to feel out the spirit of the android- if it had one, it couldn't have gone beyond the First Gate, and probably shouldn't be that far into the the First Precinct.

Name: Sabriel
Canon: The Old Kingdom
Scrubs Color: Navy Blue
Visible Age: 18
Gender: Female
Height: 5'10"
Physique: wiry
Complexion: dead white
Hygiene: clean as she can keep herself
Hair: black
Eyes: black
Defining Marks: A scar on her stomach and back from being run through by a sword.
Accent/Speech: received pronunciation English accent. Generally polite and a little old fashioned, doesn't swear or use much slang.
Bearing/Demeanor: Sabriel comes across as in control of herself and rather serious.
Gait: long, confident strides.
Habits: Will sing, hum, or whistle if she doesn't see a need for silence. Reflexively reaches for a weapon if she feels in danger, even if she doesn't have one.
Skills: Swordfighting/general combat, some wilderness survival, a quick study in general. Also good with music, cross country skiing, and memorizing things.

So Sabriel is a necromancer, which in her canon means she can sense and control the undead with music. And she generally uses this to make them really dead, or at least stop them from attacking her or others.

Oh, and all her magic plays havoc with technology- in extreme cases to the point where guns stop working, but most of the time it only affects more advanced technology, like electronics.

So, two questions.

1. If your character is undead, can Sabriel sense them and use her bells on them?

1. If your character is a machine/robot/cyborg or relies on advanced technology, are you all right with Sabriel's magic interfering with that?

〈 PLAYER INFO 〉
NAME: Sarah
AGE: over 18
JOURNAL:
IM / EMAIL:
PLURK: sarahthesilent
RETURNING: New

〈 CHARACTER INFO 〉
CHARACTER NAME: Sabriel
CHARACTER AGE: 18
SERIES: Old Kingdom Chronicles
CHRONOLOGY: After she and Touchstone have dug up Kerrigor's body, as they decide to take it to Wyverley College.
CLASS: Hero
HOUSING: random, any city besides Heropa, with roommates please!

BACKGROUND: Wikipedia!
For more about the world!

PERSONALITY: Sabriel's first scene in canon where she isn't a newborn features her reviving a rabbit from the dead, and then playing the role of stern prefect to the little girl who snuck out to chase her pet... While conveniently letting her get back inside school grounds without any trouble. Sabriel has a drive to help people in need, even if she has other things she should be doing; Sabriel is only dissuaded from putting her plans to rescue her father on hold to save some children being used as bait for the Dead by being reminded that they're currently outnumbered, and they do not have enough time.

For someone her age, Sabriel has a surprising amount of experience in dealing with danger- she's been traveling in and out of Death since she was twelve, and can come across as surprisingly mature in some ways- She's fought and defeated a handful of Dead that managed to get as far south as her school, and the only characters to match or exceed her knowledge of necromancy are her father and Mogget. Sabriel is perfectly willing to take charge and solve problems herself, and isn't short on self confidence- or courage. Even after realizing that something or someone extremely powerful is sending the Dead after her, she carries on with her plan to rescue her father, heading to his body even though she knows she's probably walking into a trap. Her sense of right and wrong is firm, and she won't hesitate when it comes to helping people in trouble, and she derives satisfaction from doing so- part of the reason she revives Touchstone immediately rather than wait and come back to help him later is that it's the first problem with a straightforward, immediate solution that she's faced since she crossed the Wall.

Having spent much of her life at a school for "young ladies of quality", Sabriel has received a firm grounding in social etiquette, though she tends to apply her lessons for dealing with troublesome servants to people who she dislikes, rather than her social inferiors- She's polite to almost everyone she meets, and prefers diplomacy to physical or verbal confrontation- though she will not shy away from it she sees something obviously wrong or harmful happening.

When she's frustrated, Sabriel stays polite at first, but gradually grows more snippy, sarcastic, and condescending, speaking to to Touchstone as though he's twelve before finally snapping and harshly telling him that she wants a useful friend, not a fawning servant. Sabriel doesn't seem quite sure what to make of Touchstone- she hasn't had much experience with men her own age, though she admits to having 'curiously fond feelings' for him, and has an surge of embarrassed jealousy when she thinks he's with another woman.

Mogget is Sabriel's familiar, and while she sometimes treats him like a cat, she never forgets that he's an ancient, powerful Free Magic spirit who will happily kill her if she removes his collar. However, while his collar is on, he's bound to obey her and serve her- mostly by offering his advice and knowledge about the Old Kingdom, and Sabriel relies on him for this, even as she's exasperated by his mockery and cryptic references.

Sabriel is still a teenage girl, and before her sudden journey into the Old Kingdom she was perfectly happy to do normal teenage girl things- sneaking out to see movies and drinking brandy with her friends (and regretting it.) In some ways, she's still naive- Before she entered the Old Kingdom, she had no experience with human death, and she didn't realize how paranoid the soldiers at the perimeter were about using magic until she got herself into a great deal of trouble by trying to play a trick on a pompous soldier. It's only after being chased by a powerful Dead creature that she realizes that all the Dead she'd faced so far had been weakened by being so far south, and she doesn't know nearly as much about Charter Magic or her own father as she thought she did- and that her near-total ignorance about the Old Kingdom is a bigger problem than she thought it would be.

Sabriel's father was her only living family for much of her life, and despite only seeing him once a month, (With actual physical visits twice yearly) she seemed to be closer to him than anyone else, discussing not only magic and her studies with him, but also her hopes and dreams. Still, she never realized that Abhorsen was his title, not his name- or that he wasn't simply a necromancer who'd chosen to use his power for good, or how unusual it was for the two of them to be capable of wielding both Free and Charter magic. Still, she was willing to head into extremely dangerous circumstances for his sake.

While Sabriel denied that her father is truly dead and insists she can still return him to life and corrected Touchstone and Mogget when they call her Abhorsen, some small, unconscious part of her seemed to have accepted the truth- her father was dead, and she had to take up his work. Consciously, she insisted she was only acting as a substitute until her father is rescued- and that she's only out to save her father, not the kingdom. She might have identified herself as Abhorsen to a group of villagers who were troubled by the Dead before assisting them, but she didn't truly consider herself to be an Abhorsen yet.

Once she meets her father again does she face the truth- he's spent too much time in Death, and cannot return to Life for longer than he needs to give her a chance to escape, and finish his work. His death leaves Sabriel shaken, but though she cries briefly, she knows there's too much left to do to mourn- and the best way to honor his sacrifice is to finish what he started- even when she's mentally and physically exhausted and fully aware of the danger and scope of the task, Sabriel presses on, fully accepting both the the title of Abhorsen and the responsibilities that entails.

Sabriel's attitude towards her abilities seems somewhat ambivalent- when she's considering moving south to go to university in Ancelstierre, she sees losing her access to magic as a loss- and losing her connection to Death as a benefit. She's still frightened by the grimoire she learned necromancy from, though she's willing to read it again. Sabriel doesn't shy away from journeying into dead when she finds it necessary, and uses necromancy instead of Charter magic as her first resort when dealing with the Dead- in any other circumstance, where force is required, she relies on her skill with a blade and Charter magic, rather than turning her bells on the living, generally preferring to counter and incapacitate rather than seriously harm, except when she's fighting the Dead. When dealing with them, Sabriel attempts to take them out as quickly and completely as possible- no clever banter or threats, she'll just use her bells and sword to end things as soon as she can.

POWER:
I will be putting up a permissions post for Sabriel's powers, since they can be somewhat invasive, and she's unlikely to use some of them unless it's part of a plot.

Also note that all of Sabriel's magical abilities tend to interfere with/be incompatible with technology, especially electronics. If she tries to enchant a car to go faster, or a gun to be more accurate, it will break and stop working. Minor spells won't cause any noticeable interference, but if Sabriel uses powerful spells, technology in her immediate area will break/shut down/malfunction for a few minutes. As long as she isn't using magic, Sabriel can handle/use technology without incident.

Charter MagicAKA the branch of magic Sabriel's likely to use most of the time. It's magic that's worked through symbols- they can be spoken, signed, whistled, written, or sometimes just visualized. (I'll just say the 'porter gave Sabriel the ability to access the Charter in this world) It's a magic that can be used for a lot of things, but it has some limitations. (no teleporting beyond making small nearby objects appear in her hands, no creation of matter, no unaided flight (although some mages have created magical aircraft, Sabriel does not have the knowledge), no shapeshifting (Again, technically possible, but Sabriel doesn't have access to this knowledge), and mental manipulation seems to be restricted to calming people down and suppressing- but not erasing- memories, and putting in plausible fake ones to cover them up.)

Charter Magic has other restrictions- Sabriel needs to visualize the symbols and mentally arrange them, meaning her magic isn't instantaneous- and some spells take considerable time to cast. Break her concentration and the spell will fizzle out or go out of control. Also, very powerful spells place a strain on her body- even with precautions, she'll exhaust herself after using a few, and without those precautions, she'd kill herself or end up in a hospital for a few weeks. Also, Sabriel can give this power to others via baptism, with the restrictions outlined here.

In terms of the spells she's most likely to use? Various forms of binding/warding, combat magic that includes both lightning bolts and fireballs as well as incapacitating her opponents through either blinding or immobilizing them. Oh, and healing.

Abhorsen So Sabriel is an Abhorsen, and the magic in her blood acts as a kind of foundation for the Charter. This grants her the ability to use Free Magic, which unlike the Charter, is rooted in death and chaos, rather than order and life. Sabriel has an intuitive connection to death, allowing her to feel when people or animals die, sense the presence of undead/ghosts, locate corpses and sites of death (And determine how long ago they died/if the bodies were moved/etc). In canon, she can also send her spirit into Death, a realm that's between the world of the living and whatever the true afterlife of her canon is, but this is irrelevant, given the different metaphysics of the setting. Still, she can see and communicate with the spirits of the departed.

Sabriel can also use necromancy, although she uses this power to control the dead and force them to actually die. Even without any instruments, Sabriel can exert mild control over the dead just by singing/whistling/clapping/making any sort of noise in a musical manner. Still, if she wanted to, Sabriel could revive the dead- even restoring them to true life if a) They've been dead less than an hour and b) Their body isn't too badly damaged. In canon, she revives a rabbit in this fashion, and later books imply that a post-mortem baptism may be necessary to preserve human beings who are revived in this fashion. This is a 'I will speak with the mods before ever using it' power, and it's one Sabriel may never use.

Magical Equipment: AKA her bells! While technically anyone can sound the bells, only a necromancer can control the effects, and the bells Sabriel uses will only work correctly for an Abhorsen. I'll put up a permission post for them, and they'll only work in person.

Ranna The Sleeper. Sends those who hear it into a deep sleep,
Mosrael The Waker. In canon, sends the ringer into Death, and the listeners into Life. but Sabriel never uses it for this purpose. It's also mentioned that it can be used to free bound spirits and wake them from dormancy- this is demonstrated when Sabriel uses it to free her father's spirit from magical captivity. In-game, it will weaken the ringer and strengthen any ghosts/undead who hear it. Sabriel is unlikely to use this bell.
Kibeth The Walker. Can grant freedom of movement to the Dead, or force them to walk where the ringer commands- including out of the world of life. Like Belgaer, tries to sound on its own, and has to be kept under control.
Dyrim The Speaker. Can grant the ability to speak- or take it away.
Belgaer The Thinker. Can grant free will, and restore lost memories. Can also erase memories and shatter minds. Tries to ring on its own, along with Kibeth, and is a hard bell to control. Sabriel doesn't use it much.
Saraneth The Binder. Binds the listener to the will of the ringer- This can be countered with the listener's strength and/or hitting the right note to disrupt the sound. The bell Sabriel favors the most.
Astarael The Weeper. Kills everyone who hears it. Including the ringer. Described as a song you hear in your very bones, so presumably stuffing your ears won't stop it. Sabriel is unlikely to ever use this bell. If she does, it will be with mod permission as part of a larger plot. She doesn't have this at her current canon point.

〈 CHARACTER SAMPLES 〉
COMMUNITY POST (VOICE) SAMPLE:

[The speaker might look familiar- a little more disheveled than usual, but it's definitely Sabriel, peering through the screen like she's never seen one before- and then trying to compose herself.]

Greetings- I am Abhorsen, and I fear I am a stranger in this land. [Her tone is formal, but there's an undercurrent of urgency.]

I understand that this country is not troubled by the Dead- People I spoke to were very clear that the recent festivities didn't involve any real monsters. [Although she still doesn't understand how the candy is related.] I'm sure it was all very charming, but I'd like to know if anyone knows where I can purchase a sword- a real sword, not a toy. [She wavers, her expression softening a little before she presses on.] If anyone's seen a white cat with a red collar- He calls himself Mogget, and he's probably said something incredibly rude by now- or a man called Touchstone- he's a little older than me, with curly brown hair and two swords, and he doesn't really understand technology.

I have read the pamphlet, and I've been given no reason to distrust our well-informed hosts. [But there's an unspoken question in her tone- 'is there any reason TO trust them?'] Still, this is all- quite a story. [And one she's not sure what to make of- technology has never fascinated her, and this is all far beyond anything the devices in Ancelstierre are capable of.]

LOGS POST (PROSE) SAMPLE: The man was probably trying to make a joke, but Sabriel didn't know what 'Halloween' was, and she was too rattled by the sudden change in her surroundings to try to play along. Instead she offered a rather frosty smile and asked what he was talking about in a politely disinterested tone, trying to force the tension out of her body. She couldn't sense anything Dead, she reminded herself, and there was no hot-metal scent of Free Magic in the air. She was safe, she told herself as her fingertips traced over the handles of her bells.

After everything that had happened since setting foot in the Old Kingdom, that was hard to believe. Some part of her was always reaching out with her sense of Death and magic,
FINAL NOTES: I'm resetting Sabriel- she'll be coming in without any memories of her previous visits.

So, first thing's first. Sabriel's a magic user who, while generally pretty ethical, has some slightly ridiculous powers when it comes to the undead (And her family's purpose is to hunt them), and she's not a slouch when it comes to more broadly applicable magic. Oh, and her magic doesn't agree with technology, which means she'll be trying to avoid using it around electronics.

<b>Player name</b> <b>Character(s) name</b> <b>Is your character undead/a ghost/some kind of spirit? If so, can Sabriel sense this? Can she try to control them?</b> Note that Sabriel is only likely to do this if she believes your character is going to attack people once she gets over her initial phase of being convinced that all undead are out to harm the living. <b>Is it all right for Sabriel to use magic on your character?</b> I'll discuss the specifics when it actually happens. Unless she's up against someone who wants her dead/seriously maimed, Sabriel will be aiming to incapacitate with minimal damage, or just inconvenience your character if she's feeling irritated and petty. Think falling asleep, being immobilized, having their feet stuck to the ground, or being magically silenced and/or blinded for a few hours. <b>If your character isn't undead or a robot/cyborg/AI, would you be interested in Sabriel teaching them magic?</b> let's plot this out! <b>Is your character a robot/cyborg/technopath prone to carrying around technology?</b> <b>If so, is it okay for Sabriel's magic to temporarily mess them/their stuff up?</b>