Zemlja [Croatian pronunciation, "earth"]
Race: Demon spirit - slightly earth elemental Age: sixty six (demons age at ~1/3 rate of humans, appears about human age twenty two) Gender: spirits don't always have a gender, but Zemlja most closely identifies with male Description: While standing, Zemlja is about 5'10", but as a spirit his form is rather malleable, and he often hovers or floats above the ground with his lower half flowing where ever he moves though he most often appears pretty solid, much like Wrathia in Ava's Demon ((pictures cannot be hotlinked)). His skin is the color of redwood bark, his eyes the deep green of a fir tree. His dark brown hair is fairly short but thick especially in the front and on top, and sticks sort of up instead of down, with slight curves but neither straight nor wavy. His build is slightly lean; he is pretty skinny but toned. All of his fingernails grow past his fingers, but are not incredibly long. Zemlja can often be found wearing simple clothes, such as a plain dark green vest (worn open or tied close) and brown pants that are a little tighter towards his ankles. He does not wear shoes, as his feet are tough and he always has the option to float. His voice is a tad deeper than you would except for someone so thin, but it is a soft kind of deep. Background: Zemlja was born of two demon spirits, one who did not identify closely to a gender, Zvijezda ("star"), and the other who felt more female, Sumski ("forest"). She had been born by a demon and an earth elemental spirit. Zemlja is considered a full demon, but has slight earth elemental tendencies. Whereas many demons felt free to love spirits other than demonic, there was a large group of demons who did not tolerate what they called "cross spirit breeding", and this group called themselves the Demon Black. When Zemlja was 15 demon years old, the Demon Black found Sumski and killed her. They did not know she had a child at the time, but they would later find out. Although Zvijezda was devastated by Sumski's murder, they taught Zemlja how to protect himself in case the Demon Black ever returned. |
At first Zemlja did not have the will to learn from his remaining parent, but Zvijezda was kind and understanding, and they mourned together for awhile. Zemlja was trained in many types of magic, but excelled especially in earth based spells and healing. By the time he was 38 he learned everything Zvijezda could teach him about earth magics. He was also trained in combat, with his weapons of choice being dai kunai, though he was also pretty good with a katana. When he was 41, the Demon Black discovered his location and came for him. They did not expect so much resistance from both Zvijezda and Zemlja, and had only three of their own for the mission. During the fight, Zvijezda was heavily injured, and Zemlja knew the only way to save them was to lead the Demon Black away in the forest and double back later. The group cared not for a 'pure demon' such as his parent, they only fought to get to Zemlja. He managed to lead them away and knock one of them out, and another had been wounded earlier. He both climbed and floated up and around trees, trying to confuse his pursuers. He had only been minorly injured and his size worked to his advantage so that he was much more speedy than anyone following him. When he felt he had finally lost them, he took a long way back to find Zvijezda in a bad shape, but definitely alone. Together they ran away, and Zemlja would carry his parent for a short length of time before getting tired, for he was still a young demon. When they felt they had put enough distance between them and the Demon Black, Zemlja focused on using magic to heal his loved one. His magic wasn't strong enough to completely heal them, but it helped enormously although it took quite awhile to finish. From then on they knew the Demon Black would be looking for them, and they traveled and were always on the move, looking for odd jobs here and there. They became used to their way of life and learned to enjoy it, often living among nature instead of in towns.
Personality: Zemlja has spent most of his life away from big crowds of people and towns, and usually feels more comfortable around animals than fellow spirits, humans, or others like that. He is rather shy and awkward at times, and a little nervous. He has a big heart though, and cares about all living creatures and is very in tune to nature. He is usually more serious than silly, but he will get to that point the more comfortable he is with someone. Zemlja is a pretty hard worker, but is sometimes forgetful or daydreaming and will make mistakes. He is also a pretty good listener. He does not enjoy fighting but has needed to do it once in awhile to protect himself and Zvijezda, as he eventually surpassed them in skill. Skills: He was trained as a young demon in many magic arts, but focuses on earth based spells. A lot of his magic takes time to work, especially healing spells, and only a few spells are instantaneous. He is also stronger than he looks though he could never lift his own weight, and was also trained in light combat. He mostly uses dai kunai, as he can throw fairly accurately from a short distance, and his small size helps with the quick movement needed to be successful with close combat fighting. He is decent with other weapons, most notably a katana, but usually does not choose to fight with it. He is also decent with directions, but knows his way better around forests or the open air as opposed to towns and cities. He also keeps a journal, and enjoys writing and thinking up small free-verse poems from time to time. |