Author Games: Dawn of Nameless Desires

CHAMPION OF GHAIRIA: Quinlan Amanzi - @brittni-anderson

Name: Quinlan Amanzi (Quin to her close acquaintances)

Age: 126

Race: Fae

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Personality: If there was one word to describe Quinlan, it would be powerful. Her words are calculated, her actions purposeful. She may be considered too serious at times, but does indulge in a rare smile should the occasion arise. Quinlan is also kind. A life of hardships could've destroyed her humanity, but by some miracle of the Gods, she kept it. Quinlan will be the first to stand up for someone and the last to back down, especially when it comes to defending freedom. However, if one were to touch Quinlan without her permission, they would see her kindness end.

Appearance: Quinlan did not have the best youth, and the life of hardships is betrayed by her body. Once considered a beautiful woman, and even still, should one look past the scars, Quinlan's body tells a story. The tip of her left ear was removed, and though her right one remains pointed, the left could pass for human in its shape. A thin, jagged scar runs from her right collarbone to her heart. Her back and shoulders are lined with scars, some from a whip and others from hot coals. Long, silver blond hair cascades down her back, sometimes pulled over one ear to pass as human, the other at times to show her true nature. Her large eyes are as blue as the sea, her mouth shapely, and her cheeks high. Her captors left her face untouched. She is a little above average height for a woman. Quinlan is not ashamed of her scars, but rather proud of the story they tell, what she'd endured and survived. Unless an occasion calls for complete modesty, at least one of her scars can be seen peeking out from underneath her clothes.

Briefest Backstory: Quinlan grew up beyond the confines of Huidrall, in a land yet untamed by laws, where warring clans were not unusual. She was raised by her mother, the matron of Green Hallow, and never knew her father. Her mother was always attuned with the forest and trees, while Quinlan found her magic stemmed from the water. When Quinlan was 23, she was kidnapped from her home by Golgerth, the chieftain of a warring clan, the Night Larks, and forced to become his wife. For seventy years, she was captive, forced to do all but bear a child. When Golgerth threatened the life of a serving girl, one of Quinlan's only friends in the godforsaken palace, she took action, slicing the man's throat. And then she ran, escaping the Night Larks and never returning. Quinlan returned to Green Hollow once to look for her mother, only to find the place destroyed. For the last thirty-three years, Quinlan has lived in Huidrall, moving from place to place, sailing the oceans, exploring the ports, hunting in the forests, seeking a peace, or a purpose, that has escaped her since she first left Golgerth's land.

Weapons/Skills: The dagger Quinlan used to kill her husband is the only physical weapon she carries. Quinlan's skills lie in manipulating water, using it as a weapon or a gift for those around her.

Anything Interesting: Quinlan is deadly afraid of fire, particularly hot coals.

Task Zero:

As with all things in life, there was a tide, an ebb and flow of peace, of terror, of happiness and sorrow. Life was as fickle as an ocean, as powerful as a wave, and as giving as rain.

Perhaps this was why Quinlan found herself drawn to the ocean after escaping from Golgerth. Instead of rushing back to the forest, as was expected of her after years as a prisoner, she rushed to the sea.

Each step through the sand, every feel of the tiny grains against her bare feet, was intoxicating, alluring, freeing. It did not erase the scars that marred her back, nor the fear ingrained into her heart at the sight of hot coals. The cool, gentle, breeze that rushed through her silver blonde locks would never blot out the memory of searing pain as the tip of her once pointed left ear was sliced off. The taste of salt on her tongue would never make up for seventy lost years.

Tattered remnants of her blue dress whipped around her as she drew closer to the raging sea. Toes curling as they touched the frigid water, Quinlan let out a sigh and took several steps forward. As she submerged herself in the ocean, the open sore on her shoulder stung for the briefest of seconds before the water sang the song of healing and knitted her back together, and the pain dissipated. Tears ran down her face, mixing with the salt of the water, as the blood washed from her skin, from her hair, from her body.

She'd been far too careless when she was young, and as the daughter of the matron of Green Hollow, she hadn't recognized the world for what it was: deadly, sinful, ready to squash out any remnant of hope. The lesson had been hard one to learn when Golgerth, patron of a warring Fae Clan, had taken her prisoner, forced her to become his queen, and held her life against the Fae of Green Hollow.

The caress of the sea could only do so much to relieve Quinlan of her memories, of the feel of his touch, of his whip striking her back. But the chill of the water, the feel of her skin, though mangled as it may be, once again clean, assured her that life could be beautiful. It could be merciful. She'd come here, by herself, because she'd wanted to. Not because she was threatened or forced, but because she was free.

Free.

Free.

The word played itself in her head, an anthem, a plea. There was little Quinlan treasured more and it was the one thing she would never relinquish.

She knew that life would not always be like this. She would need to find her clan, see if her mother was alive. Golgerth's people would be looking for her, especially given the body she'd left behind.

But for a moment, however short, Quinlan had everything she sought. True freedom. Of body and soul.