Post by Chara Messina on Jan 15, 2015 22:30:29 GMT
[attr="class","omg"]
Age: Immortal, appears around 10
Group: Greek sea monster
Gender: Female
Sexual orientation: Biromantic Asexual
Tier: Tier 1
Mythology: Greek
Immortal Parent: Poseidon and Gaia
OOC name: Sharky
[attr="class","ommg"]Chara Messina
[attr="class","appimg"]
Name: Chara (KAH-rah), Charybdis (Kuh-RIB-des)Age: Immortal, appears around 10
Group: Greek sea monster
Gender: Female
Sexual orientation: Biromantic Asexual
Tier: Tier 1
Mythology: Greek
Immortal Parent: Poseidon and Gaia
OOC name: Sharky
[attr="class","omgg"]
I remember when...
"...On this there grows a great leafy fig-tree; under it, awesome Kharybdis (Charybdis) sucks the dark water down. Three times a day she belches it forth, three times in hideous fashion she swallows it down again. Pray not to be caught there when she swallows down; Poseidon himself could not save you from destruction then. No keep closer to Skylla's cliff, and row past that as quickly as may be.” -Odyssey, Homer
Charybdis's story is a strange one, though not really that strange as far as greek myth goes. See, she wasn't always a monster. She was once a minor goddess of the tides, daughter of the sea god Poseidon and the titan Gaia. In Earth's early years, the world was constantly changing. The gods of various pantheons played a large part in the shaping of Earth, but Poseidon wanted a little more than the share allotted to him.
He planned to take over some of the land under the control of his younger brother Zeus. He instructed young Charybdis to flood those lands, thus bringing them under Poseidon's control as ruler of the seas. She did this happily, as she has always been a very loyal if very naïve girl. Of course Zeus would find out about his brother's plans and the greek pantheon isn't exactly known for the mercy of its gods.
Zeus struck Charybdis down into the sea with his lightning bolt and cursed her so that she must drink deeply from the sea three times a day and later regurgitate that water, forming a mighty whirlpool in a narrow channel within the Strait of Messina near Sicily. She would later be joined by another unfortunate individual. The cursed Scylla would make her home in a cliff face no more than an arrow's shot away. This meant many a brave hero would have a difficult choice ahead, as it was impossible to avoid both monsters. Thus the old saying "between Scylla and Charybdis" was born. Charybdis was never a malicious monster however. She was cursed to hunger for the sea. Sometimes a ship or traveling demigod got in the way of the gaping vortex of her "mouth", but she never meant to eat anyone.
Over the years as belief in the gods of old began to wane, people began to forget her as well. Although her form was still present and visible within the Strait of Messina people began to see her as just a normal whirlpool. As this more "scientific" belief became more common, Charybdis's power began to fade away. Her personhood also began to fade and even she began to doubt her own existence. Every day Charybdis stepped closer and closer to disappearing or perhaps being eaten by the far more resilient and malevolent Scylla. That's when her father stepped in.
Perhaps in return for her great loyalty or more likely as some sort of investment for future plans, Poseidon appeared before his long forgotten and long suffering daughter. Just before withdrawing from the world that no longer needed him, he dropped a special present into the weakened vortex of Charybdis's whirlpool. The moment the Ocean's Gyve touched her "face" all of the former goddess's hunger disappeared. The vacuum of her mouth was sealed behind the magic bindings of the helmet and for the first time in many millennia she was able to leave her aquatic prison.
After struggling for a few days to walk and breathe on dry land, she came across a servant of her father's in a small town in Sicily. He was there to take her away from the world that no longer believed in gods and magic. He would take her to a special place where she could regain her power so that she could serve her father once again. However, the sustained faith in this paradise land would be a double edged sword. People would know of the mighty Charybdis who swallowed many an ancient hero. To alleviate some of the prejudice that was sure to come, the servant dubbed the girl "Chara Messina" and urged her to go by that name from now on.
In my reflection I see...
Chara appears to be a young child, standing a little over four feet high. Her skin is very white from lack of sun. She wears a baggy dress that was white a few millennia ago, but has now been dyed an off-white tan-ish color by the sea. On her head she wears the Ocean's Gyve which she never removes fearing the consequences. It sort of resembles a bronze diving helmet. Nothing of her features can be seen from under the helmet. She doesn't wear any other clothing including shoes.
Positive traits: Inquisitive, Adventurous, Loyal, Friendly, Tenacious, Kind, Innocent
Negative traits: Stupid (doesn't know how to read and only knows basic math), Childish, Naïve, Clumsy, Reckless, Gullible, Destructive
Today Chara travels to the different lands of Lemuria by sea. She attempts to sell the many interesting objects she accidentally ingests from the ocean. However, she tends to put a high price tag on shiny and beautiful things like shells and sea glass while seriously underpricing the many enchanted artifacts and weaponry that she finds to be far less pretty. She has a great interest in the old tales of heroes and gods and idolizes anyone that she sees as "strong" or "heroic". She often attempts to participate in quests and adventures in order to become a hero herself, but people still see her as a monster and a nuisance.
Ocean's Gyve (Tier 1)
This was the gift that Chara's father gave to her to allow her to leave the sea. It appears to be some sort of bronze divers helmet. The front of the helmet looks like a black tinted visor, but in actuality it is completely transparent. Beyond the glass window is Charybdis's "face", a dark void that would consume all around it in a powerful vacuum. The helmet, however, shackles the power of that void behind near indestructible enchanted metal. The spells woven into the gyve also help Chara to control her hunger. She is able to retract the window in the helmet to feed, but can also control the intensity of the vortex. This newfound control and concentration would of course leave her should she ever remove the helmet. If she is able to regain the power she once had, such a situation could become very dangerous.
Belly of the Whale (Tier 1)
Chara's helmet (see above) conceals a black vortex that was once powerful enough to swallow entire ships. It is unknown where the unfortunate victims of her mighty vacuum go. Some say it leads to her own pocket dimension. Some think it may be a portal directly to the underworld. Wherever it may go, Chara was once able to vomit up the indigestible matter with as much force as she pulled it in.
Tier 1: Temporarily weakened by the loss of faith, Charybdis is not the mighty maelstrom she once was. When she opens the portal on her helmet she can store and remove whatever she pleases from her "face". She is no longer able to create a form distorting vacuum at this tier, so the objects she can ingest are limited to those that can fit within the visor of the helmet. She can not regurgitate the items with much force either, leaving her to have to dig around in her helmet for the items she wants. Under water she is a little more powerful, but she is only able to create small eddies.
Deep Sea Diver(Tier 1)
With Zeus's curse, Chara became a creature of the sea. She once lived in it, subsisted on it, breathed it. With the freedom gained by her father's gift she is now able to leave the waves, but she still calls those waters her home.
Tier 1: Chara is attempting to get used to her new amphibious lifestyle. She can still hold her breath for several hours and she still feeds entirely on seawater. She isn't much faster in the water than most demigods, though certainly faster than most children. She didn't move around a lot after she was cursed, though she will eventually become a much more proficient swimmer with practice. She is able to dive far deeper than most mortals can go as she isn't bothered by deep sea pressure.
[attr="class","oomg"]Information
I remember when...
"...On this there grows a great leafy fig-tree; under it, awesome Kharybdis (Charybdis) sucks the dark water down. Three times a day she belches it forth, three times in hideous fashion she swallows it down again. Pray not to be caught there when she swallows down; Poseidon himself could not save you from destruction then. No keep closer to Skylla's cliff, and row past that as quickly as may be.” -Odyssey, Homer
Charybdis's story is a strange one, though not really that strange as far as greek myth goes. See, she wasn't always a monster. She was once a minor goddess of the tides, daughter of the sea god Poseidon and the titan Gaia. In Earth's early years, the world was constantly changing. The gods of various pantheons played a large part in the shaping of Earth, but Poseidon wanted a little more than the share allotted to him.
He planned to take over some of the land under the control of his younger brother Zeus. He instructed young Charybdis to flood those lands, thus bringing them under Poseidon's control as ruler of the seas. She did this happily, as she has always been a very loyal if very naïve girl. Of course Zeus would find out about his brother's plans and the greek pantheon isn't exactly known for the mercy of its gods.
Zeus struck Charybdis down into the sea with his lightning bolt and cursed her so that she must drink deeply from the sea three times a day and later regurgitate that water, forming a mighty whirlpool in a narrow channel within the Strait of Messina near Sicily. She would later be joined by another unfortunate individual. The cursed Scylla would make her home in a cliff face no more than an arrow's shot away. This meant many a brave hero would have a difficult choice ahead, as it was impossible to avoid both monsters. Thus the old saying "between Scylla and Charybdis" was born. Charybdis was never a malicious monster however. She was cursed to hunger for the sea. Sometimes a ship or traveling demigod got in the way of the gaping vortex of her "mouth", but she never meant to eat anyone.
Over the years as belief in the gods of old began to wane, people began to forget her as well. Although her form was still present and visible within the Strait of Messina people began to see her as just a normal whirlpool. As this more "scientific" belief became more common, Charybdis's power began to fade away. Her personhood also began to fade and even she began to doubt her own existence. Every day Charybdis stepped closer and closer to disappearing or perhaps being eaten by the far more resilient and malevolent Scylla. That's when her father stepped in.
Perhaps in return for her great loyalty or more likely as some sort of investment for future plans, Poseidon appeared before his long forgotten and long suffering daughter. Just before withdrawing from the world that no longer needed him, he dropped a special present into the weakened vortex of Charybdis's whirlpool. The moment the Ocean's Gyve touched her "face" all of the former goddess's hunger disappeared. The vacuum of her mouth was sealed behind the magic bindings of the helmet and for the first time in many millennia she was able to leave her aquatic prison.
After struggling for a few days to walk and breathe on dry land, she came across a servant of her father's in a small town in Sicily. He was there to take her away from the world that no longer believed in gods and magic. He would take her to a special place where she could regain her power so that she could serve her father once again. However, the sustained faith in this paradise land would be a double edged sword. People would know of the mighty Charybdis who swallowed many an ancient hero. To alleviate some of the prejudice that was sure to come, the servant dubbed the girl "Chara Messina" and urged her to go by that name from now on.
In my reflection I see...
Chara appears to be a young child, standing a little over four feet high. Her skin is very white from lack of sun. She wears a baggy dress that was white a few millennia ago, but has now been dyed an off-white tan-ish color by the sea. On her head she wears the Ocean's Gyve which she never removes fearing the consequences. It sort of resembles a bronze diving helmet. Nothing of her features can be seen from under the helmet. She doesn't wear any other clothing including shoes.
Positive traits: Inquisitive, Adventurous, Loyal, Friendly, Tenacious, Kind, Innocent
Negative traits: Stupid (doesn't know how to read and only knows basic math), Childish, Naïve, Clumsy, Reckless, Gullible, Destructive
Today Chara travels to the different lands of Lemuria by sea. She attempts to sell the many interesting objects she accidentally ingests from the ocean. However, she tends to put a high price tag on shiny and beautiful things like shells and sea glass while seriously underpricing the many enchanted artifacts and weaponry that she finds to be far less pretty. She has a great interest in the old tales of heroes and gods and idolizes anyone that she sees as "strong" or "heroic". She often attempts to participate in quests and adventures in order to become a hero herself, but people still see her as a monster and a nuisance.
[attr="class","omgg"]
[attr="class","oomg"]Inventory
Ocean's Gyve (Tier 1)
This was the gift that Chara's father gave to her to allow her to leave the sea. It appears to be some sort of bronze divers helmet. The front of the helmet looks like a black tinted visor, but in actuality it is completely transparent. Beyond the glass window is Charybdis's "face", a dark void that would consume all around it in a powerful vacuum. The helmet, however, shackles the power of that void behind near indestructible enchanted metal. The spells woven into the gyve also help Chara to control her hunger. She is able to retract the window in the helmet to feed, but can also control the intensity of the vortex. This newfound control and concentration would of course leave her should she ever remove the helmet. If she is able to regain the power she once had, such a situation could become very dangerous.
[attr="class","omgg"]
[attr="class","oomg"]Abilities
Belly of the Whale (Tier 1)
Chara's helmet (see above) conceals a black vortex that was once powerful enough to swallow entire ships. It is unknown where the unfortunate victims of her mighty vacuum go. Some say it leads to her own pocket dimension. Some think it may be a portal directly to the underworld. Wherever it may go, Chara was once able to vomit up the indigestible matter with as much force as she pulled it in.
Tier 1: Temporarily weakened by the loss of faith, Charybdis is not the mighty maelstrom she once was. When she opens the portal on her helmet she can store and remove whatever she pleases from her "face". She is no longer able to create a form distorting vacuum at this tier, so the objects she can ingest are limited to those that can fit within the visor of the helmet. She can not regurgitate the items with much force either, leaving her to have to dig around in her helmet for the items she wants. Under water she is a little more powerful, but she is only able to create small eddies.
Deep Sea Diver(Tier 1)
With Zeus's curse, Chara became a creature of the sea. She once lived in it, subsisted on it, breathed it. With the freedom gained by her father's gift she is now able to leave the waves, but she still calls those waters her home.
Tier 1: Chara is attempting to get used to her new amphibious lifestyle. She can still hold her breath for several hours and she still feeds entirely on seawater. She isn't much faster in the water than most demigods, though certainly faster than most children. She didn't move around a lot after she was cursed, though she will eventually become a much more proficient swimmer with practice. She is able to dive far deeper than most mortals can go as she isn't bothered by deep sea pressure.
