Avemano
((2nd Draft))
Imagine.
Imagine having a taste of that chocolate bar, that cheesecake. Imagine playing your favourite sport just once, doing your favourite activity just once and then having it taken away. Imagine being told you're not allowed anymore sweets, not allowed to play that game, do that activity anymore. But you've only had a taste.
Imagine the craving.
This was what Avemano felt every day of her life for almost 700 years. That one brief experience -- those few nights after she was born and before her mothers took her -- of the "chupian," the outside, it was enough.
Now, imagine being denied the permission to eat your favourite food, do your favourite activity, not matter how many times you've asked.
Because, of course, you need permission to do these things when you're only a child.
Avemano was a child and in some ways will, probably, always remain as one. It was for that reason that her mothers did not allow her to leave the "hei," the black .. this among other reasons.
Tell me, would you let your only daughter go out by herself in a completely new country? Sure, when she's 21, maybe even 18. But 15? 10? .. 5?
Same thing. Avemano's mothers were simply being protective. Albeit they were leaning towards the extreme. They, her mothers, were planning to let her go into the "chupian," just as soon as they thought her trained enough to take care of herself adequately. Of course, there was another reason for that training.
And then there was the second reason Avemano wasn't allowed out of the "hei."
Men.
The male species.
The Adams of the world.
While they weren't teaching to hate outside males, they weren't exposing her to them either. Avemano, in 700 years, has never set her eyes on a male of any species aside from her own. Males, her mothers deemed, were neither needed or wanted in Avemano's life. Especially after what had happened with Avemano's mother. They didn't want a reapeat of history starring their adoptive daughter, the only and last connection they had with their goddess.
So, her companions consisted only of her mothers and the occasional playmates her mothers allowed her to associate with. It wasn't as bad as it sounded though. And the training kept her busy for the most part anyway.
The training. A rigorous set of activities that worked Avemano's physical and inhuman abilities. And it wasn't just physical training, it involved mental training as well. The sort where they taught you how to lie, how to manipulate. The psychological sort.
700 years of that. She should be an expert. But .. why all the training? Remember there was a second reason? That was why.
Her mothers, weakend by the death of their goddess, wanted to, planed to use Avmenao against the higher beings in an act of revenge. Revenge for letting their goddess die, for not doing anything to intervene their goddess' encounter with death.
Imagine that.
Imagine being used as a tool for someone else's need. Imagine, your whole life, from the very beginning it was all being controlled so, in the end, you fulfill whatever it was that they wanted of you. And you never even knew a bout it.
And they were Avemano's mothers. Sickening, wasn't it.
It was justified in their minds, after all, they were avenging Avmeno's true mother. They were going against the same beings that denied Avemano a soul, leaving her 'incompleted'. To them, the end justified the means. And yet, they never told Avemano of their plans.
Ignorance is bliss, isn't it.
But. . .
. . . . . . .
She hated it. Being trapped in the never-ending stretch of shadow that she lived in; this place she called home. She hated the dull routine her life had become: eat, sleep, study, train .. rinse and repeat.
She was going to end this.
Her Forms
Doll: Avemano rarely uses this form as it leaves her rather vulnerable. It is mainly used as a means of healing and resting. Because she is--quite literally--a doll with her shadow entity being inside it, she cannot move physically unless she transforms. She is able to, however, communicate through the mind. When not in the form, the shell (or the doll itself) is either put away in the shadow realm or on display at one of her homes. If it were to break, however, it would take a period of two to four weeks to rebuild. The features of the doll are a replica of her human form (miniturized, of course) it stands approximately a foot tall, made of porcelain.
Physical - Human: This is how she gets around in the modern (oblivious) world. She stands at 5', weighs 100lbs and currently, has long black hair with red highlights. Her dress shifts although she is often seen with the Japanese Harajuku Girl style often seen around Harajuku, Tokyo.
Physical - Shadow: She is most often in this form when she is independent of the shadows cast from buildings and objects, etc. Her proportions are similar to her human counterpart although she is 'unclothed.' Instead she is wrapped in a shadow-like material from head to toe, like a second skin. Hair in this form changes with her mood so I won't bother to describe that here. Her face is also wrapped in the shadow-material although in a mask fashion where she is able to (because the material can be manipulated) cover from her whole face, to nose and mouth, to exposing her whole face completely. Her face, when uncovered, looks the same as her human counterpart although the eyes, iris, cornea, and sclera are all blacked out.
Shadow: She is in this form when she is part of the shadows herself and moving to and from one place to another. This is most adequately described as a liquid or mist-like form. Although, unless one could see into the shadows, it most often wouldn't be seen.
Combative Abilities
Fortify [human/shadow]: The shadows swarmed, wrapping themselves around her for a moment before they slowly dripped away. What was left was invisible to the human eye but perhaps would be seen with some unnatural sight. A thin shield encased her body like a second skin, the shadows providing her an extra measure of protection. -- this allows her some measure of defense against hits though it certainly won't protect her completely.
Shatter [human/shadow/doll]: There was a swarm of black as Avemano was hit but what lay on the pavement wasn't her body but the pieces of a broken porcelain doll and its dress. Avemano stepped out of the nearby shadows, unharmed, that was a close one. -- this allows Avemano to replace her body--human or shadow--with that of her doll form to take the damage. This may only work once as time (several weeks) is needed to reform that part of her.
Harden [shadow]: Avemano extended her claws, preparing for the upcoming battle. Her claws, took on a sheen of black, unlike the matte covering that extended up wards over her whole body. She flexed her claws, raking it over a building, easily causing big gashes to appear. -- extendable claws are already built into Avemano's body but this only allows her to strengthen them enough to slash through steel easily. Though this is a physical attack and would not be able to penetrate a magic barrier as easily. However, it would help with defense against magical attacks.
Manipulate [human/shadow/doll (to a lesser extent]: From Avemano's fingers shot out strands of what first looked like hair but were, in fact, shadows manipulated to exist away from the walls. Of course, these shadows cast no shadows of themselves, even for those who grew to be as thick as a man's arm. -- Avemano's combined ability from her mother and father. She is able to pull the shadows off the walls and ground and manipulate them into hair like strands which she controls. The easiest for her is if they came from her though she is able to, with a little more energy expended, manipulate them at a distance from her, as in within a barrier or within a building--where ever there are shadows, including those within her own body. In her doll form, she may only use this ability if the shadows are connected to her. She is unable to manipulate them from a distance.
Eject [shadow]: Avemano lifted a clawed hand to the side, quickly swinging it in an arc forward, repeating it with her other hand. Each time she swung her arm a shadow of her claws flew out towards her target like five large throwing knives slicing through the air. -- often used in conjunction with Harden Avemano is able to manipulate the shadows into the form of her claws and throw them in any direction.
Imagine.
Imagine having a taste of that chocolate bar, that cheesecake. Imagine playing your favourite sport just once, doing your favourite activity just once and then having it taken away. Imagine being told you're not allowed anymore sweets, not allowed to play that game, do that activity anymore. But you've only had a taste.
Imagine the craving.
This was what Avemano felt every day of her life for almost 700 years. That one brief experience -- those few nights after she was born and before her mothers took her -- of the "chupian," the outside, it was enough.
Now, imagine being denied the permission to eat your favourite food, do your favourite activity, not matter how many times you've asked.
Because, of course, you need permission to do these things when you're only a child.
Avemano was a child and in some ways will, probably, always remain as one. It was for that reason that her mothers did not allow her to leave the "hei," the black .. this among other reasons.
Tell me, would you let your only daughter go out by herself in a completely new country? Sure, when she's 21, maybe even 18. But 15? 10? .. 5?
Same thing. Avemano's mothers were simply being protective. Albeit they were leaning towards the extreme. They, her mothers, were planning to let her go into the "chupian," just as soon as they thought her trained enough to take care of herself adequately. Of course, there was another reason for that training.
And then there was the second reason Avemano wasn't allowed out of the "hei."
Men.
The male species.
The Adams of the world.
While they weren't teaching to hate outside males, they weren't exposing her to them either. Avemano, in 700 years, has never set her eyes on a male of any species aside from her own. Males, her mothers deemed, were neither needed or wanted in Avemano's life. Especially after what had happened with Avemano's mother. They didn't want a reapeat of history starring their adoptive daughter, the only and last connection they had with their goddess.
So, her companions consisted only of her mothers and the occasional playmates her mothers allowed her to associate with. It wasn't as bad as it sounded though. And the training kept her busy for the most part anyway.
The training. A rigorous set of activities that worked Avemano's physical and inhuman abilities. And it wasn't just physical training, it involved mental training as well. The sort where they taught you how to lie, how to manipulate. The psychological sort.
700 years of that. She should be an expert. But .. why all the training? Remember there was a second reason? That was why.
Her mothers, weakend by the death of their goddess, wanted to, planed to use Avmenao against the higher beings in an act of revenge. Revenge for letting their goddess die, for not doing anything to intervene their goddess' encounter with death.
Imagine that.
Imagine being used as a tool for someone else's need. Imagine, your whole life, from the very beginning it was all being controlled so, in the end, you fulfill whatever it was that they wanted of you. And you never even knew a bout it.
And they were Avemano's mothers. Sickening, wasn't it.
It was justified in their minds, after all, they were avenging Avmeno's true mother. They were going against the same beings that denied Avemano a soul, leaving her 'incompleted'. To them, the end justified the means. And yet, they never told Avemano of their plans.
Ignorance is bliss, isn't it.
But. . .
She hated it. Being trapped in the never-ending stretch of shadow that she lived in; this place she called home. She hated the dull routine her life had become: eat, sleep, study, train .. rinse and repeat.
She was going to end this.
Her Forms
Doll: Avemano rarely uses this form as it leaves her rather vulnerable. It is mainly used as a means of healing and resting. Because she is--quite literally--a doll with her shadow entity being inside it, she cannot move physically unless she transforms. She is able to, however, communicate through the mind. When not in the form, the shell (or the doll itself) is either put away in the shadow realm or on display at one of her homes. If it were to break, however, it would take a period of two to four weeks to rebuild. The features of the doll are a replica of her human form (miniturized, of course) it stands approximately a foot tall, made of porcelain.
Physical - Human: This is how she gets around in the modern (oblivious) world. She stands at 5', weighs 100lbs and currently, has long black hair with red highlights. Her dress shifts although she is often seen with the Japanese Harajuku Girl style often seen around Harajuku, Tokyo.
Physical - Shadow: She is most often in this form when she is independent of the shadows cast from buildings and objects, etc. Her proportions are similar to her human counterpart although she is 'unclothed.' Instead she is wrapped in a shadow-like material from head to toe, like a second skin. Hair in this form changes with her mood so I won't bother to describe that here. Her face is also wrapped in the shadow-material although in a mask fashion where she is able to (because the material can be manipulated) cover from her whole face, to nose and mouth, to exposing her whole face completely. Her face, when uncovered, looks the same as her human counterpart although the eyes, iris, cornea, and sclera are all blacked out.
Shadow: She is in this form when she is part of the shadows herself and moving to and from one place to another. This is most adequately described as a liquid or mist-like form. Although, unless one could see into the shadows, it most often wouldn't be seen.
Combative Abilities
Fortify [human/shadow]: The shadows swarmed, wrapping themselves around her for a moment before they slowly dripped away. What was left was invisible to the human eye but perhaps would be seen with some unnatural sight. A thin shield encased her body like a second skin, the shadows providing her an extra measure of protection. -- this allows her some measure of defense against hits though it certainly won't protect her completely.
Shatter [human/shadow/doll]: There was a swarm of black as Avemano was hit but what lay on the pavement wasn't her body but the pieces of a broken porcelain doll and its dress. Avemano stepped out of the nearby shadows, unharmed, that was a close one. -- this allows Avemano to replace her body--human or shadow--with that of her doll form to take the damage. This may only work once as time (several weeks) is needed to reform that part of her.
Harden [shadow]: Avemano extended her claws, preparing for the upcoming battle. Her claws, took on a sheen of black, unlike the matte covering that extended up wards over her whole body. She flexed her claws, raking it over a building, easily causing big gashes to appear. -- extendable claws are already built into Avemano's body but this only allows her to strengthen them enough to slash through steel easily. Though this is a physical attack and would not be able to penetrate a magic barrier as easily. However, it would help with defense against magical attacks.
Manipulate [human/shadow/doll (to a lesser extent]: From Avemano's fingers shot out strands of what first looked like hair but were, in fact, shadows manipulated to exist away from the walls. Of course, these shadows cast no shadows of themselves, even for those who grew to be as thick as a man's arm. -- Avemano's combined ability from her mother and father. She is able to pull the shadows off the walls and ground and manipulate them into hair like strands which she controls. The easiest for her is if they came from her though she is able to, with a little more energy expended, manipulate them at a distance from her, as in within a barrier or within a building--where ever there are shadows, including those within her own body. In her doll form, she may only use this ability if the shadows are connected to her. She is unable to manipulate them from a distance.
Eject [shadow]: Avemano lifted a clawed hand to the side, quickly swinging it in an arc forward, repeating it with her other hand. Each time she swung her arm a shadow of her claws flew out towards her target like five large throwing knives slicing through the air. -- often used in conjunction with Harden Avemano is able to manipulate the shadows into the form of her claws and throw them in any direction.
posted by aoisakana | 
<< Home