Vesper Aphelion

Name: Vesper Aphelion
Age: 34 Summers
DOB: 26th Sun of the Second Astral Moon
Height: 6'5"
Race: Hrothgar (The Lost)
Gender: Cis Woman (she/her)
Orientation: Lesbian
Relationship Status: Polyamorous (Widowed)
Partner(s): Nove Wren
Occupation: Kinesiologist
Former Occupation: Assassin

AppearanceVesper is a quite tall female hrothgar with rich indigo-violet fur, dappled with light blue spots that seem almost like stars, and sometimes glow like them too. She has long, royal blue hair, which she keeps in some arrangement of braid and ponytail. She has piercing silvery-blue eyes, and a gentle but powerful smile. A blue gemstone adorns her forehead.As typical of most Hrothgar, she is quite muscular, and she has the honed body of a combat veteran, but the odd thing one might notice is that there are no visible scars on her body - unusual for someone with her combat experience - but with one exception.She almost always wears some manner of gloves, but in the rare occasion that she removes them, one might notice a single large scar across the palm of her left hand.

Motifs
Stars, BloodScents
Iron, Myrrh, RolanberriesVoice Claim
Jaheira (Baldur's Gate 3)
VA: Tracy Wiles

Personality<sup>+ Confident, Insightful, Patient
- Apathetic, Blunt, Unintentionally Intimidating</sup>One's first impression of Vesper is that she is quiet, but confident. She does not seek the validation of her comrades, knowing that her actions speak for themselves.With honed senses and insightful demeanor, she is not easily surprised. Nor does she seem particularly taken aback when hearing about particularly atrocious things. This gives one the impression that Vesper has a checkered past.For the most part she keeps her insights to herself, but if she is feeling kind, she will share them with those she thinks must hear them. Though blunt and often hurtful in the execution, that she is sharing her thoughts at all means that she likes you... or at the very least finds you intriguing.Vesper can often be found...

The Demon of Stars
For a period of time ranging from about seventeen years ago ago to about ten years ago, a mysterious assassin was responsible for the deaths of many people - largely in Ilsabard and Othard though as far west as Vylbrand in Aldenard. So few were their witnesses over the years that the only description of the woman - who took no precautions to hide her face - was that of a cold, leonine visage with blue, silvery spots scattered as stars against an indigo night sky and piercing silver eyes to match. She became known in time as the Star Demon, and from there the legend varied into all number of old wives' tales. Some believe her to be an evil spirit. Others believe that she worked for a criminal organization. Either way, her activities came to an end and all was silent until she very suddenly turned up in the Bozjan Southern Front, fighting on the side of the resistance against Garlemald and helping turn the tide. Somehow... no one thought to refuse her help. Mostly because she was enraged and unloading that rage onto the enemy...at least until she disappeared once the conflict was over.Princess Nadia
Queen Milena had one heir - the Princess Nadia, who on the night of an accursed eclipse, disappeared from the courtyard where she was playing when she was but a toddler. No one knows what became of her, but those who survived the queendom's eventual destruction at the hands of the Star Demon whispered that the creature of darkness looked much like the queen...

The Night's Chosen
A small mystery cult popped up in Othard, just near the Bozjan border. This cult was led by a viera named Halo Zaali, who claims that their cult had originated in another world, where there was no night sky - and this cult was focused on the worship of the aforementioned stars. She and her sister, Deva, performed strange magicks and rituals, magicks which had Deva burned at the stake by the neighboring Hrothgar Queendom ruled by Queen Milena. This began a cycle of bloodshed and revenge as, according to legends, Halo released the Star Demon upon the world...who killed Queen Milena alongside her consort and tore the queendom apart...The Apothecary's Tragic Love
A popular traveling apothecary named Tivuh Feiste is said to have met a hrothgar with the Star Demon's description ten years ago. She was charmed by the woman and they grew close, their relationship culminating into an elopement. Their joy was not to last, as Tivuh was killed in a Garlean attack just a few short days after they were married.Unconventional Healing
A traveling kinesiologist, Vesper assists patients with physical therapy, using the power of one's own body to heal itself and take control back. This line of work has led her to the company Legatum Mysteria, where she is now employed full time. Her patients have nothing but good things to say about her, though a small few describe some of her methods as...unconventional.

Halo Zaali
Relation: Adoptive MotherHalo is the High Priestess of a mostly-defunct cult known as the Night's Chosen - which she claims is a splinter of a cult in another world called the Night's Blessed. Her cult worships the night sky, and resides in Othard near the Bozjan border.When Vesper was a toddler, Halo kidnapped her from the neighboring queendom and adopted her, indoctrinating her into the cult. She, with her sister Deva, performed a ritual, infusing Vesper's blood with celestial aether.When Deva was killed by the queendom some years later, she released her empowered daughter upon the world: killing the Queen (her biological mother), destroying the Queendom, and after that - whoever else Halo saw as an enemy. Unintentionally, through the ritual she had placed an aetheric bond on Vesper that not only forced her to do as Halo ordered, but also prevented Vesper from forming bonds with others.After a recent confrontation, Halo was forced to see the truth of what she had done, and she severed this bond willingly and showed contrition, desperate to salvage her relationship with her daughter - but trust is not so easily re-earned.

Deva Zaali
Relation: Adoptive Aunt (Deceased)Halo's sister Deva was essentially the heart of the family. Warm, caring, doting on her niece and nephew...and also admittedly a bit of a sexual deviant outside the home. She practiced a form of Astrology that used runestones instead of cards, and she had a soft spot for all kinds of people. It was her attempt to offer her magical services to the Hrothgar queendom that ultimately led to her execution.

Solstice
Relation: Adopted Brother (Deceased)Years before Vesper was adopted, a wayward xaela child was also adopted into the cult. He was Vesper's big brother, and he was always looking out for her. When Vesper was given the ritual that led to her celestial blood, Solstice insisted that he undertake the ritual too. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to his mother, he had a bleeding disorder and ended up perishing in the attempt.

Nove Wren
Relation: LoverShortly before Vesper found her freedom with the help of Legatum Mysteria, she met Wren and they instantly hit it off. She admires Wren for her work ethic, for her intelligence, and most of all for her (sometimes begrudgingly) soft heart. Their romance is yet a new one, but one that came remarkably easy once Vesper was freed from her curse.

Q'tiba Rafiyah
Relation: FriendWhen details about Vesper's curse were revealed to the Mysterium, Tiba was the first person to be a real friend to Vesper. As she was also formerly enslaved, they have a sincere understanding of each other. While Tiba can often be a little too bubbly for Vesper's tastes, she has a soft spot for the miqo'te who fought so fiercely for her.

Wulfe Fuyu
Relation: Friend/PatientWhen they first met, Vesper often scared the skittish Wulfe, but in time, they came to understand each other. They both have heritage that they were torn from, so there is an understanding there. Moreover, Vesper aided in curing Wulfe of the Black Rose prototype that he was infected with so many years ago. Now they are steadfast allies, and unlikely friends!

Mynne Rosalia
Relation: Friend/PatientMynne and Vesper are both victims of blood magic, but the difference is the severity. Mynne had died, and had accepted a pact with a mamool ja named Zekiel Ja to come back to life. Zekiel Ja supped on her remaining aether. Vesper had a vested interest in ensuring that Mynne's life returned to her freely, and aided in the negotiation with the blood mage that cursed her and the subsequent recovery. During this time, She has grown fond of Mynne, especially now that she is seeing what she was like before her curse.

Lalamune Zazamune
Relation: Unlikely ComradeTo say that Vesper and Zaz don't see eye to eye is a bit of an understatement, and that has little to do with their height disparity. Their allyship began in a bit of a rocky place, in part due to Zaz's brief romance with her mother Halo. However, as they both have a vested interest in Lalamune's pursuit of traveling to parallel stars, they have found themselves as unlikely allies...at least for now.

Through a ritual of astrology and blood magic, Vesper's blood is infused with celestial aether. When it pours from her veins, it sparkles as though full of stars.