❛ ♔ : ilyana cyrulean henituse。ᶻᵒʳᵃᵠ

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ilyana cyrulean henituse.

— roleplayed by @damattero

☴

trivial information

other name(s)

ily (pronounded ee-lee; used by the other royals and her family).
young lady yana (clan namesake; hates the 'young lady' part of it).
golden-eyed jackal (zoraqi alias).

dob + age

113 bp + 114 years old.

place of birth

magneum city, kronos.

species

half-blood (mer-elf).

languages

standard, elvish, qaresh.

occupation

princess of zoraq.

reign

52 years, from 51 BP to present.

family

(adoptive) henituse elvish clan.
(biological) cyrulean merfolk clan + valerium elvish clan.

s. orientation

panual.

r. orientation

demiromantic.

status

single, not looking.

— aesthetic.01

— appearance

faceclaim

kim taeri (with slight influence from space sweepers).

height

166 cm.

weight

50 kg.

hair

— (natural, currently) dark brown hair cropped just a few inches below her shoulder.
— (abilities in use) gains golden streaks at the front part.

eye colour

— (natural, currently) brown.
— (abilities in use) molten gold.

cadence

ilyana is rather... brusque in manner; having grown up with mostly males in her clan, it's no surprise she speaks the way she does (much to her ma's chagrin). she's capable of civility, yet the thing about her is that you never know what she's thinking, even with her good-natured quips. oh, and has anyone told you about her being a total potty-mouth? no? well, then.

gait/posture

ilyana generally has good posture, not ramrod straight, but the way she carries herself warrants at least a modicum of attention. she's quick on her feet, takes big strides with light footsteps; you'd be surprised to know just how many of her clan members have fallen victim to that.

scent

ocean pine, orange blossoms, with undertones of honeysuckle.

marks

the henituse insignia of a turtle - usually reserved for the leading family within the clan - is branded on her left shoulder. (x)

other features

gleaming amaranthine scales and "dorsal" fins run down the length of her spine; it's the only notable characteristic she has from her mother's side of the family, with majority of her features coming from her elvish ancestry.

clothing style

typical zoraqi attire - ilyana values practicality and comfort over anything; who wouldn't, when you live in their kingdom? her tunics are always cinched at the waist with belts, her pants paired with billowy, long-sleeved blouses and boots. she's quite possibly also the least-decorated zoraqi royal; while her formal wear does have embellishments, they're barely enough to attract attention to her.

armory

ilyana's armor is made of a special kind of aerisian titanium alloy, personally handcrafted and gifted to her by their clan's master blacksmith upon her induction into the royal court; lightweight and form-fitting, it makes combat easier and even provides better insulation for when she uses her ice abilities. as for armaments, ilyana is able to wield any type of weapon, however her favorites would be the longsword, her combat dagger, and her axes. (x) (x) (x)

— abilities

water and ice manipulation.

"remember: if you can't go through an obstacle, go around it. water does."

scope of ability:

base abilities involve controlling the liquid form (pure water).
can make non-living (e.g. making bridges, weapons) or living (e.g. deliver messages through an aqueous version of herself) constructs.
her prowess encompasses even that of ice manipulation, which is essentially just water in solid form (same applications as its liquid counterpart).
ilyana is also able to imbue herself, or her weapon(s) of choice, with hydro (effects: inflicts wider scope of damage, increased agility, fluidity of movement) or cryo (effects: inflicts greater damage, increased physical durability) energy.
main difference between her water and ice constructs is that the latter is more sturdy; apart from the mentioned weaknesses below, there is virtually nothing else that can damage her ice creations.

limitations/disadvantages:

unable to control vapor or any other gaseous forms of water.
constructs made out of the liquid form have a maximum duration of 20 minutes, at most - the longer the duration, the weaker its effects (e.g. a hammer made out of water is only able to retain its hardness for about 10 minutes before slowly weakening).
more magic is needed for her to infuse hydro energy; so while physically she is still durable, her mana slowly wanes.
ilyana's ice is susceptible to fire-based abilities, often melting within 15 seconds after exposure to particularly high heat, and any hard-hitting attacks.
ilyana is still at risk of hypothermia even with her ice manipulation; simply put, she is not immune to her own power.

siren's call.

"her spell is passion and it is art; a song that can bind the human heart."

scope of ability:

like most mermaids, ilyana's siren's call is able to either lure in or ward off any threats, though she's unaware of the latter function as of now.
works on both men and women.
as for how far it reaches, it has been seen to affect even people who are 2 meters away from where ilyana stands.
depends on her disposition at the time of using; according to the henituses, ilyana had heightened emotional states in the two instances recorded of her using siren's call.

limitations/disadvantages:

siren's call only works when ilyana is within close proximity to, or standing in, any large body of water.
does not work on those aged 16 and below, on animals, or on inanimate objects.
apart from the abovementioned factors, the call does not discriminate as to who it attacks, as long as they are within its radius.
usage of this ability often leaves her with no recollection of what has happened, as she passes out afterwards.

healing magic.

"healing is both a blessing and a responsibility — keep that in mind, as a henituse."

scope of ability:

ilyana's healing capabilities are more of an acquired skill rather than inherent; as a henitusean specialty, this magic was taught to her the moment she entered the clan.
aside from incantations, this ability involves the use of herbs and other traditional methods, as well as clan-crafted potions.

limitations/disadvantages:

can only treat moderate injuries (e.g. shallow stab wounds/lacerations, fractures) at most; any attempt to heal life-threatening injuries rapidly deplete her mana stores.
as it involves the use of other materials (mentioned above), if she lacks any of these materials, ilyana is unable to fully restore anyone to optimal health.
ilyana cannot heal a nearly-dead individual - or rather, doesn't believe in it. the henituse clan always emphasizes that they shall give due respect to the natural order of things.

— aesthetic.02

— background

prologue : floating up.

"ever passing by, water is never the same; turbulent its flow, without the least break." — 森鴎外。

it was but a mere moment of carelessness; she had only resolved to venture past their pod's set boundaries once, and it cost her her freedom.

from the safety of their aquatic abode within the beleza ocean, nerida cyrulean was whisked away to the bustling city of magneum, reduced to a mere prisoner. it was a small saving grace that she wasn't hunted and immediately killed by her captors, like all those other mermaids in the stories that her mother had told them; although still fearful for her well-being, she held on to that notion.

it was on that same ship which brought her many a ways from home, where she met him.

theoden valerium was around her age, she had surmised, and that detail made them fast friends; he was nice, gave her food, and accompanied her whenever the waters turned turbulent (although he was visibly more scared than she was). it didn't take long for nerida to find out that he was also the ship owner's son, and that he was the next heir of the valerium mercantile company - unable to associate her friend with the atrocities of his family, nerida chose to blindly believe in him.

some onlookers have said that it was a whirlwind romance, from that point on - their friendship had developed into young love, and ultimately led to nerida conceiving a child. by then, it should have been a red flag that theoden never brought up marriage, as her clan highly-valued monogamy and familial ties; unfortunately, nerida remained naive.

their daughter, ilyana, was brought into the world without much worries; being the granddaughter of a rich mercantile family, it was a given for her to be delivered safely. yet, as more time went on and she was still unable to see her child, nerida's qualms were only amplified. and for good reason, as merely a few months later, she accidentally overheard the most unexpected conversation - one which would fundamentally change the course of her life.

"kill the mother, spare the child - i bet the youngin's gonna get us twice the normal amount," she'd heard theoden's mother say; nerida could only gasp in horror as her beloved (or so she thought) voiced his assent - his own child! it was then and there that nerida managed to uncover the real reason behind the valeriums' wealth: majority of their income came from the black market - that they mainly sold half-blood infants and children, and not kronic produce.

out of fear for her daughter's (and her) life, nerida hatched a plan to run away as soon as she possibly could. and run she did - with little ilyana in tow, swaddled in the warmest blanket she could find - into the darkness of the night. it was a blessing that she managed to board the small ship that was just about to head out when she reached the harbor, after appealing to the owners - the henituse clan - with her child; never would she want her daughter to experience the same things that she did. not on her watch.

and that was how nerida and ilyana cyrulean evaded death. for the time being, at least.

act i : song of upbringing.

"infancy: the snow that fell on me was like floss silk. childhood: the snow that fell on me was like sleet." — 中原中也。

the fateful night of their departure led them to the unlikeliest of places, and farther from where she came from: the kingdom of zoraq.

nerida found solace in her new role as the henituse family's maid and clan herb-picker; while her mother fulfilled her duties, ilyana was left in the care of the other clan members, all diverse and wonderful in their own ways - her favorites in particular were thorne (human; a cook), yitri (fairy; also a maid) and camus (elf; a blacksmith). by the time she was five, ilyana knew more of herbs and weapons than traditional zoraqi education, much to nerida's amusement. life with their newfound family was peaceful... until that day.

the clan had just managed to cross the dunes of durrah and was headed northwest, when they were ambushed. being in a kingdom which prided itself on strength, it was no surprise even to 7 year-old ilyana at this point; the henituses, decorated warriors of their own, had encountered their fair share of bloodshed. but to their surprise, the attackers did not even pay attention to them - they went straight for the wagons, where nerida and ilyana were, and it didn't take long for the former to realize that they were sent by the valeriums.

young ilyana had minimal recollection after that, coming to her senses much later with the dark night sky overhead, and no mother by her side. what she DID remember was how the other clan members had stepped in to shield her from the sudden warfare, how nerida valiantly tried to protect her with whatever power she had left - and how she was slaughtered in the process. what ilyana was unaware of, was that her abilities manifested for the first time on that day; that after seeing her mother's lifeless body collapse onto the ground, her rage led her to single-handedly kill every single assailant (and even injure some of the clan members).

the leading family of the clan took pity on the child who now has lost both her parents; yet, they still saw her potential, hence prompting them to take it upon themselves to officially adopt her as their own. the rest of ilyana's formative years were spent as a henituse, training in their ways and honing her skills as a combatant.

truth be told, she was never meant to be princess in the first place; her sister, elmyra, was supposed to ascend to the throne. yet, the contrast of world views between her sister and the reigning king brutyn pushed back the supposed inauguration, with the former even going so far as threatening to leave the clan if the event proceeded as planned. at her behest, ilyana was put in the spotlight, being the only girl left among the henituses. to them, it was a necessary intervention - they needed to bring forth someone, even if said proxy was merely an adopted orphan; to her, it was akin to a death sentence.

"you are a capable warrior, child. make the clan proud," were her father's words. to others, it would sound like encouragement, however it was anything but - it was more of a warning, a statement with an undertone of apprehension. and who was ilyana to refuse? she owed her life to this family, for taking her in despite being unsure of her origins. it was her time to step up and give back what is due.

and that was how ilyana cyrulean henituse went from orphaned half-blood, to zoraqi princess.

act ii : above the waves.

"The world, after all, was still a place of bottomless horror; by no means is it a place of childlike simplicity." — 太宰治。

becoming princess during brutyn's reign was, for lack of better words, counterintuitive - ilyana was met with more scorn than support, the zoraqi people believing her to be on the side of a tyrant who wanted nothing but blood on his hands. it did not matter even with how much she tried to appeal to the masses; their faces were always a mixture of fear, hatred, and contempt.

but maybe she did deserve those looks, anyway.

para 2 - ilyana's role in brutyn's reign. tba.

para 3 - brutyn's assassination. tba.

para 4 - ilyana in the current lineup of royals. tba.

— aesthetic.03