Jhaan Riviere

[FireFlare]

Wyrann Jhaan Riviere
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Other Appearance Stuff: Jhaan is fairly androgynous looking, with soft facial features, something that most elves don’t have. His hair was originally a light blond, but it turned white due to stress.
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Nickname(s): Jan, Rat, Wretch, Scum, etc.


Affiliation: Paragons


Rank: Apprentice


Occupation: Cartographer


Age: 22


Gender: Male


Race: Half-Elf (Snow Elf)


Land of Origin: Mana


Height: 5’ 10’’


Weight: 132 lbs


Eye colour: Icy Blue


Ki Sign: Nightkin


Element: Earth


Personality:


Jhaan is extremely gifted when it comes to mana use, but he doesn’t really know it. If someone were to judge him completely on his mana, he’d be a prodigy. However, his talent is often overlooked or even goes completely unnoticed because of his personality. Jhaan is timid. Exceptionally so, taking the word ‘afraid’ to an extreme. Couple that with the paranoia from his childhood and it becomes difficult for him to make a good impression on people.


Any unexpected sound causes him to jump. Depending on the level of noise, it can cause him to run and/or hide. Solitude comforts him, but he knows that he’s only circumventing his problems. Jhann is generally very self-aware, but just because he knows what he’s doing doesn’t mean he can control it. He understands that his fear isn’t very rational, at least not to the extent his was, but the mind is a powerful thing. He doubts himself and others constantly, and it makes it hard for him to form relationships with other people. After all, what relationship can survive without an ounce of trust.


Jhaan isn’t completely alone, at least not when he returns to Arrosfar. The acquaintances he made there through years of work are the few people he can will himself to trust. But even that trust isn’t without boundaries. He still doubts them and their motives, but he’s learned to either overlook various signs or move past them in the interest of a bond.


He can often be pressured into doing something, good or bad, if the person urging him into action is outspoken or powerful enough. He realizes this and as such, he tries to stay away from those types of people. This applies not just to demeanor but physical appearance as well. When he finds himself in a situation containing anyone several inches taller than him or bulkier than him, he tries his best to do unnoticed while finding a way to get away from them.


Occasionally, Jhaan’s continued attempts at confidence bear fruit. His courage overpowers his fear and he becomes a force to be reckoned with. Though, this happens only very rarely. He also becomes fairly reckless during these times. He stops doubting himself and his ideas, and by doing so, he tends to act more quickly.


Due to his past, Jhaan is rather apprehensive when he comes in contact with full-blooded elves. It was almost full blown hatred, but because of his grandfather’s actions to save Jhaan and his human mother, he gives elves a chance. A very small one. Other races, Jhaan is completely open to meeting, or as much as he can be with his personality problems. He’s curious about the world, but he’s not brave enough to approach people about it.


History:


Anvestaesi was a distinguished Elven city, known for its artisans and architecture. Many of the craftsmen dealt in jewels and marble, the town having been built from the ground up. The families involved in the construction became the nobles, and a few of those individuals were still alive when Jhaan was born. Located in northern Mana, more specifically on the mountain Kluymst, the city was surrounded in snow. In daylight, when the sun reached its full height, the city would shine. The snow glistened as the pure white marble reflected the rays, and the city looked almost unreal. In the blizzards that constantly graced the mountain, the city would seem to disappear. Anvestaesi would blend into the landscape and cease to be seen.


Because of the advantageous conditions and positioning of Anvestaesi, the citizens it would last for at least many centuries more, if not many millennia. It was known to be practically mythical, so few traveled to Anvestaesi, and the Elven citizens, all of which possessed some form of mana were there to protect it from any attacks, though few came. However, the one thing the city wasn’t prepared for was destruction from within.


Jhaan was born to one of the noble families of Anvestaesi, the Orbryn. His grandfather was a gifted architect who had designed a majority of the city, and as such, he was one of the founders. The construction had begun when his grandfather was nearing 200 and ended close to a century later. The man, now over 600, had still lived and worked as a member of the Council of Anvestaesi. That all ended when Jhaan was born.


Jhaan’s father, [SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Locien,[/SIZE] the first-born son was set to succeed the Orbryn family when his father died, and as such, he needed an heir. The problem was, he decided to marry a human woman. The woman, Kayleigh Reviere, had ventured to the city in search of knowledge but instead found love.  The courtship between the two was quick but no less powerful or real. Within only a few months, the two were engaged, and a few months after that, Kayleigh was pregnant. Contempt had been brewing in the city ever since the relationship had begun, but there were no outspoken adversaries. Many of the Elves believed that Locien would simply tire of the woman, or realize that their lives were so fleeting that he would give up. When that didn’t happen, unrest turned into full-on outrage.


Of course, Locien hadn’t been the first elf of Anvestaesi to marry outside of their race, but he was the most notable. The others had either been shunned from the city or had disappeared, likely captured or murdered by the most pretentious of the Elves. That could not be done to Locien, and his protection over Kayleigh was furiously thorough. In the end, they had their son.


Jhaan, though a member of the noble family, was despised and persecuted by the majority of the city, and even those who disagreed with his treatment were too frightened to speak out. His only comfort was his parents, as even his own grandfather wasn’t happy with his existence. Living with so much hatred and condemnation, Jhaan grew up as a fearful child. Leaving the protective walls of his home, without the company of his father, led to both physical and verbal beatings. Even leaving the threshold of his parent’s room resulted in glares and various looks of scorn. He couldn’t feel safe, and when he was 12, he learned that he never had been.


The earliest years of Jhaan’s life, despite the turmoil it came with, hadn’t resulted in physical conflict. It was almost close to settled, though Jhaan would never be accepted by the city, until another of the noble’s children returned to the city, courting yet another human spouse. That brought back the negativity in full force. The citizens demanded Jhaan and his family’s exile or execution, along with the others, but his grandfather wouldn’t allow that. As much as he disapproved of the marriage between Locien and Kayleigh, he still had somewhat of a bond with his son, and he still had need of an heir. He refused to throw them out, and following his example the other nobles did the same, allowing the other human-elf couple to remain.


There was a large outcry, and then the riots started. The oldest elves, the ones most set in their beliefs, were unfortunately some of the strongest in Anvestaesi. They headed the revolution, and many of the Elves followed them. The nobles broke apart, into those supporting and those opposing the Orbryn family’s beliefs. As the nobles had been the only governing force of Anvestaesi, the political state of the city was destroyed. As a consequence of that, the economic state soon followed. Those who weren’t radically against the union between elves and other races were forced to defend themselves and their livelihood or risk death. The city was in chaos.


It didn’t take long for a raid on the Orbryn residence to occur, and in the fight, Locien and his father were killed. Strangely enough, it wasn’t Locien that secured the safety of Jhaan and his mother, it was Jhaan’s grandfather who rushed them out of their home and into a back alley. As he and his mother fled, Jhaan could hear the pained shouts of his grandfather behind them.


Along with his mother, Jhaan spent the next two years in hiding. They moved from house to house, being sheltered by those who believed the revolution had gone too far. Though they still didn’t like Jhaan, they could pity him, and by housing him, they could tell themselves that they had opposed the excessive death. It was in these two years that Jhaan began to use his Mana. He had known that he possessed mana for years, but the priority for his parents had been to give him a happy life, one where he felt safe, and his father believed that teaching him mana would scare Jhaan. He started off conjuring small pebbles, drawing Earth from the ground and then throwing it with his hand. He slowly gained more control of that ability, but without a teacher, he quickly hit a plateau in his development, that continued until one of his final moments in Anvestaesi.


He and his mother were being moved once again, but due to a careless mistake by the ones transporting them, they were found out. An ambush occurred, and the two were separated, Jhaan being completely alone. He ran through the streets of the city helplessly, believing that these would be his final moments. After a rushed turn, Jhaan came to a dead end, with three people behind him, one of them being an older elf, Jhaan crumpled. He sat hunched over, silently begging to be safe, his mind racing for an option. It was then that something clicked inside of him, a wall of stone lifting from the ground.


It almost proved worthless when one of the elves quickly smashed through it, but as the hand was being drawn out, the wall quickly regenerated itself while expanding to cover the area above him as well. However much the elves outside tried to reach him, the wall stood strong, repairing itself faster than they could break it. When they attempted to get him by destroying the building around him, the wall grew more. It eventually became a cocoon of sorts, shielding him. For what felt like hours, Jhaan had sat there, wondering when they would break through, but they never did. They gave up and left after a few hours, but Jhaan stayed sitting in that cocoon for nearly two days.


When he emerged, he didn’t return to those who had supposedly been sheltering him. What if they had intentionally given him up? He stayed hidden and in constant fear, moving around at night. Over the next week, he learned that he was supposedly dead in the eyes of the citizens, and he learned of the death of his mother. He’d heard whispers of her body laying somewhere in the town, and he searched for it. When he found it, he wished he had left instead. Sitting in the very center of the town was her body. The face was so disfigured that it was almost unrecognizable. She had been tossed there like trash, blood covering her clothes and staining her face.


Sadly, Jhaan had only moments to mourn. As the tears were just starting to pour down his face, he heard voices. He darted away, leaving his mother’s body in the center of town, and exited Anvestaesi. That was a decision that he hasn’t ever stopped regretting. As he left the city gates, he emerged into a blizzard. 14 at this time, Jhaan was already living paranoid and alone.


Trudging through the blizzard and descending the mountain over a period of weeks, a few near-death experiences on the way, Jhaan eventually made it to a small town. Arrosfar. The town’s economy focused mostly on trade, because of this, while still located in Mana, there was a mix of races either passing through or as permanent residents.


Living in Arrosfar for close to three, Jhaan practiced his mana in solitude. Progression was still slow, but he never fell into a plateau again. His body had been jump started into progress. During the day, Jhaan became an errand boy, running throughout the town for enough money to live off of. His expenses were meager, but so was his pay, so he continued to live off the land and in the streets.


It became clear to a number of the permanent citizens of Arrosfar that Jhaan was paranoid. The characters of the town teased him about it, while the criminals used it to torment him. He met a few good acquaintances, but he couldn’t consider them more because he couldn’t trust them. Compared to Anvestaesi, his life in Arrosfar was fairly peaceful, but he couldn’t continue living like he was.


His physical conditions were good enough, but his mental state was a mess. He’d never left behind the feeling of being hunted, and it was wearing on him. Years of uncertainty and fear pushed him too far. He needed to be stronger, and unfortunately, Arrosfar wouldn’t give him what he needed. He didn’t want to forget, but he wanted to move forward from his past. With the need for a job that would allow him the freedom to work out his problems, he stumbled along cartographer. Travel would give him many opportunities to attempt to overcome his own shortcomings, and map making seemed perfect for him.


You couldn’t stay in the same place forever, as that would defeat the purpose, but you would never disregard or forget a place you’d been. There would forever be a reminder, one that he’d had the power to create, alongside him. Gathering supplies, he set off, his first destination was Kluymst, the mountain on which Anvestaesi existed. He didn’t go anywhere up the mountain, simply mapping the area around it. He didn’t have the courage to do anymore, so that would have to be enough.


Over the next few years, he continued his exploration. Then, he had a chance encounter with a Paragon. Though he had made progress, Jhaan was still very much afraid of the world. Becoming an apprentice would force him to either get stronger or die. And one day, if he was able to become a knight, he would have the power to not only protect himself but others as well. With his mother’s body flashing through his mind, he was determined to become stronger.


Relationships: Anyone want to be his mentor?


Ki abilities N/A


Mana abilities:


Earth


Earth Wall - A wall of Earth juts from the ground in front of Jhaan. The wall is solid stone and does not move.


Cocoon* - Walls of Earth form around Jhaan, protecting him completely. The surround each side of him and slowly close up at the top, until he is encased. The full potential of this ability is walls that almost immediately form around Jhaan. They constantly regenerate as they are damaged, and when needed, there will be layers formed to prevent access to Jhaan. He also hasn’t even attempted to do this for another person, so its area of effect is limited.


Earth Redirection - Jhaan manipulates the Earth around him, moving it, but not removing it from its connection to the ground.


Pillar - Jhaan constructs a pillar, slowly moving the ground up. The pillar is large enough in diameter to hold Jhaan, but not anyone bigger. Jhaan uses this move primarily for mobility in cities, instead of using it in any combat situations. As such, the formation of these pillars is not very fast. Jhaan also has to be touching some area of the pillar for the duration of its formation.


Pitfall - Creating a small pit by moving the Earth apart from a fixed point. This move takes time to do. Jhaan needs to be touching the area around where he forms the put, and he's never made anything extremely large(anything over a 4 x 4 foot hole).


Pebbles - When running, Jhaan makes small sections of Earth protrude from the ground. Jhaan does this in hopes that it will trip up whoever is chasing him. He does this without looking, so the most accuracy it has it that they appear somewhere behind him. The ‘pebbles’ are not large, and oftentimes they won't be noticed.


Stone Movement - Manipulating the Earth, and completely removing it from any connections it had with the ground.


Slingshot* - Jhann forces a section of the Earth from the ground either small or medium in size, and either throws it manually or he can force it from the ground in the direction of what he wants it to hit. When propelling a stone from the Earth, Jhaan has more control the smaller the projectile. There is no influence of mana or ki when he throws the stone manually, and as such it’s pretty weak. The full potential of this move would be likened to a canon(Jhaan can’t use this yet, maybe not ever), and can be used for combat against structures and creatures.


Construct - Slowly, Jhann moves Earth into a position he likes. He typically uses this for practice. So far, Jhaan hasn’t made anything that couldn’t comfortably fit in his hand. He tries to focus on the details of whatever he makes and he also uses this ability to make very crude tools.


Repair - Moving a small section of stone, Jhaan places it on a surface and molds it to the form in an attempt to repair it. While he can mold the stone to the form of whatever crack or other sign of breakage, he cannot transmute the material. It will stay stone no matter what. This makes it difficult to repair anything that is not stone, as attempting to stick stone to another material, say wood, wouldn’t work out well as a long term solution.


Fire


Firelight - Lighting a small fire in his hand, Jhaan uses this for light and it generates a small amount of heat. This is in no way a dependable skill, especially because it uses pyromancy instead of geomancy. Any loss of concentration extinguishes the flames. He also hasn’t got to the point where he can light a flame in both hands at the same time. The size of the flame varies slightly, but it hasn’t gotten larger than the palm of his hand.


Burn - This works one of two ways. He can either generate a small spark on a surface his hand is touching, causing a fire, or he can heat his own hand so that when it comes into contact with something, it burns. The spark generated in option 1 doesn’t always light something on fire. Say it was damp wood. It might take him multiple tries to actually start a flame, if at all. This fire doesn’t have any special properties, such as burning faster or being able to endure any attempts at extinguishment. The second option is more volatile. Essentially, Jhaan is trying to create a small but powerful layer of heat above his hand in order to burn something but not necessarily set it ablaze. This is meant to harm, so there are times when it backfires and Jhaan burns his own hand.


Water


N/A


Air


N/A


*Cocoon and Slingshot are the moves that Jhaan uses the most, and because of that, they are more developed than the rest of them, giving him better control and power use.


Limitations:


Jhaan is at his most powerful when he is going off of instincts. However, Jhaan is often too worried about what is happening around him to let go. He forces himself to stay aware and overthinks things too much. He also started to learn to use him mana without a teacher. He can pick up on techniques fairly quickly, but he can’t change anything he learned before he started being taught. It would require a great understanding of the powers to do so, something that Jhaan doesn’t yet possess. He panics a lot when in battle, causing him to lose his concentration. His physical stamina also isn’t something to be proud of. The running he did in his youth did provide him with some endurance, but it comes in bursts. He’s never had to worry about his mana reserves, as the one time he did run out, it was after nearly 48 hours of constant use. Though that doesn’t mean it’s unlimited, as adrenaline likely played a large part in that experience. He doesn’t know where his limits are yet, which has been a blessing so far, but will eventually turn into a curse when he reaches those limits and has nothing left to do afterwards. It’s likely that he’ll burn himself out at some point without proper monitoring, but once again, he panics too much during battle(at this point in time) to be able to monitor it himself.


Extra:


He doesn’t use the name Wyrann anymore, but he did use it while he lived in Anvestaesi. There are two reasons for that, the first being that it was the name his father gave him, and thus a name that connects to his lineage. Using ‘Jhaan’ as his name is yet another form of running from his past. The other is because Jhaan is a wimp, plain and simple. To him, the name Wyrann sounds more powerful. He doesn’t feel like it fits his character, so he doesn’t use it. He also donned his mother’s maiden name.


During one of his rare bursts of confidence, Jhaan once pretended to be a woman and flirted with another man. This happened rather recently, as it was during his search for information of an area to map out. It wasn't extremely hard due to his looks, and the fact that the recipient of his actions was adequately drunk helped. However, halfway through the encounter, his courage ran out. He became flustered and was close to just running out of the bar(which he eventually did), but couldn't admit his lie to the man because of his embarrassment. The flirting of a now very awkward Jhaan didn't seem to put the man off, likely because of his inebriated state, and it continued for close to half an hour. Though Jhaan had the information he'd needed, he never became bold enough to end the conversation. What did end the encounter was the man's attempt to grope his butt. He bolted from the tavern they'd been in, mortified, and feeling both guilt and shame. He left the town that night and has not yet visited again. Not only that, he plans to never return to anywhere close to the area.