PERSONAL INFORMATION
- BASICS:
Name: Serafina Oriani Age: August 3rd, X766 Gender: Female Sexuality: Homosexual Ethnicity: Fiorian, Caelese Class: Spellsinger Race: Human Rank: D-rank Guild: Guildless Tattoo: Right side of her neck, colored red. Face: Specter - Arknights
- APPEARANCE:
Height: 6ft | 182cm Weight: 145lbs | 65kg Hair: Gray Eyes: Red
Overall: Standing at six feet in height Serafina leans towards the taller half of human females. Her skin is pale not only by birthright, but also due to the lack of exposure to the sun with how she chooses to dress. Her feminine curves are healthy, but are normally concealed well with her outfit. The woman’s eyes are naturally a deep red color, but can brighten a little when reflecting light. Her gray hair falls freely to her hips and thighs, with her bangs dropping low enough to partially obscure her eyes if not brushed aside. Sometimes she will have her hair styled in a long, thick braid if someone is available to assist her.
- PERSONALITY:
"Smile for those who have forgotten how, and bear the weight for those who have fallen to their knees."Those were words Serafina had taken to heart when she had served as part of the clergy for Sagrada Church, acting as a protective escort for her helpless flock. It’s still a mantra that she recites to herself in the present, but its importance has lessened over time. Being born and raised in Dahlia the woman has become jaded to the daily murders, disappearances, and other unfortunate plights of the local populace. The Fioran King and his Rune Knights did little to counter the supernatural terrors that plague the city, and mage guilds would only brave the haunted lands while extorting money from the already desperate citizens. Even the gods ignored the prayers of Dahlia’s people leaving them to fall prey to fanatical religious leaders. Under all that weight Sera’s faith crumbled over time, and she lost a part of herself in that dark, malevolent city. A smile still masks her expression these days, but it’s a well practiced facade. Soft spoken and composed, she still likes to play the part of an amiable and supportive aide, although her impish humor is genuine in nature. Her advice on spiritual guidance runs contrary to her chosen appearance, though. She’s quite candid about believing that people need to take more agency in their own lives instead of waiting to be saved. The gods wait for no one, and neither should mortals. She’s no longer on a crusade to make the world a better place, and she prefers to focus on what’s in front of herself in the present. Not someone easily intimidated by violence Serafina will gladly employ force against threats, drawing upon a multitude of past do-or-die experiences in Dahlia. She finds validation in her own convictions during such encounters. No one is going to save her but herself, and she will prove her own strength not to any spectating gods, but to herself. She will survive. Likes:
- Storms:
There’s something captivating to this woman about the raw power of a good storm. Rainfall that stings like a barrage of needles. Wind that threatens to carry you off like a thief in the night. The shaking of your lungs as thunder roars and lightning tears asunder anything foolish enough to attract its attention. Even the calm eye holds nothing back, giving one just enough time to feel safe before being battered by the elements once more. It’s a simple, but visceral pleasure for her to be out in such terrible weather. Her thrill is even more intense when fighting in a storm.
- Fishing:
A skill learned for survival, and a hobby for free time. Serafina doesn’t like leaving many things up to chance, but she is content to cast a baited hook out and wait for a bite. She’s capable of more active approaches to fishing, but if performing the act for the sake of it the woman won’t try as hard. It gives her time to reflect and meditate while also maintaining a somewhat productive mood. If she’s not gathering food for herself or others she’s more than happy to release catches she doesn’t need.
Dislikes:
- Flowers:
While beautiful on the outside, the inner symbolism of flowers leaves her feeling numb inside. Growing up in Dahlia her over familiarity with flowers came from them being placed upon grave markers or caskets being lowered into the ground. Having committed more than her fair share of floral offerings to the deceased Serafina makes a conscious effort to avoid them. If that’s not possible, then she will cut them down with blade or magic without a hint of emotion on her face before walking over the shredded remains.
- Blind Faith:
In Sera’s opinion, while the gods may not be worthless in their own right, they are hardly worthy of the devotion they constantly demand. The woman continues to wear her religious clothes even after abandoning her faith in an effort to further mock the gods. It’s often touted by the pious that: ‘the gods help those who help themselves,’ but Sera’s counterpoint to that is simply: ‘if you can already help yourself, for what reason should you kneel before a god?’
Motivations:
- Survival:
Having survived the everyday horrors of Dahlia for over two decades, Serafina has no intentions of becoming easy prey for anyone or anything. She will dispassionately prioritize her own safety over the lives of anyone who tries to do her harm, or those she suspects will try to hurt her.
- Purpose:
Surviving and living are two different things. There is a small hope within this woman’s scarred heart that she will be able to cross that threshold from the former to the latter one day. If she’s fighting to survive, surely there must be something beyond mere survival to enrich her existence. Sera has yet to find it, though.
Fears:
- An Undignified Death:
There’s little point in resisting the inevitable, but resist she will with tooth and nail. After surviving and struggling for so long Serafina fears suffering a death that disgraces all the effort she puts into living. She’s not looking for a blaze of glory, but to the idea of being knifed in the back during a nighttime stroll is not how she wants to die.
- Falling To Depravity:
There’s a fine line to walk between not caring about the misfortunes of others, and actively watching those people suffering. Sera is not trying to change the world or save every troubled soul she comes across. As numb as she is to tragedy she fears one day that she might become amused by such things if she does not find a light to guide her way.
- HISTORY:
‘Dahlia is a great place to raise a child,’ said no one ever.
Despite the dangers involved the citizens of Dahlia commonly raise families and cope with the hardships, Serafina’s parents included. Her mother, a native of Caelum, was not fond of the idea, but trusted in her husband’s word that things would work out. Her father worked for Sagrada Church as an usher as well as part of its security detail. Having grown up in Dahlia he was confident that the gods and their priests would guide the worthy to salvation. In truth, the man’s skill with magic is probably what saw him through the many threats infesting the city, but he was a spiritual individual.
The Oriani family had many, many close calls with danger much like anyone else in the community. When it was discovered that Serafina had potential for learning magic her parents were both happy and concerned. This meant that her father could teach her how to properly defend herself, but it also meant that little Sera would be expected to help protect the city at night. Even at a young age the girl understood the dual nature of this revelation, but put on a brave face for her parents before promising she would ‘do her best no matter what!’
Serafina became more involved with Sagrada Church as she entered her teens. By that time she was a diligent student of her father’s magic Plague Wind, as well as an ardent soldier of faith for the church. The idea of shepherding the townspeople to deliverance was quite appealing, as was the notion of dedicating her life to something greater than herself. As she became a young woman things started to fall apart, though.
She committed herself to the church fully, and only after that ran afoul of a high ranking priest. They had a disagreement on where her presence was most needed. She believed it was her duty to protect the church’s flock, while he insisted the gods deemed it necessary that she stay within the safe confines of Sagrada Church. The argument grew heated until Sera had to use her magic to push the priest back onto the ground after he had started to pull roughly on her wrists. Hurting the man was seen as a slight against the gods, and punishment was called for by the clergy. In the end it was Serafina’s father who had suffered for her mistake. The man was ritually sacrificed to appease the offended gods, and although he went willingly to spare his daughter this fate Sera never could forget his screams, nor the smell of burning flesh.
That event started to lift the veil revealing the hopelessness of Dahlia’s situation to Serafina.
If it had been just that incident alone, her faith might have recovered. However, over the years she became more aware of problems that she casually dismissed before. Not just about the church, but about the city as well. Being considered a black sheep of the clergy she was often sent out on dangerous jobs, including safeguarding provisions going in and out of Dahlia. Her first trip outside of the city was to Hosenka, and that caused her trust in Fiore's King to start unraveling as well. She could not understand how the King could pour so much wealth into the Joyan inspired city when Dahlia was left to slowly wither away, day by day. The woman was rather sullen after returning from that trip, and she eventually managed to convince her still mourning mother to return to Caelum.
Serafina remained to continue looking after the church's flock, but after witnessing too much senseless death and weathering one crushing disappointment after the next she too left the dying city, burying a part of herself there as she fled. She would survive for no one else's sake but her own, on no one else’s strength but her own. She would do that without any petty favors from the gods, or wasteful boons from the King.
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