Astrid is an elluryan witch under the tutelage of Ghael.
Astrid | |
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Details | |
Aliases | Astrid the Dextrous |
Age | 16 |
Physical Description | |
Species | Human |
Gender | Female |
Height | 5'1" |
Weight | 116lb |
Eye color | Yellow |
Appearances |
Appearance
Astrid is a light-skinned girl of average height and a slender athletic build. Her default clothes are a tight fitting black shirt and black shorts. She is usually seen wearing a long yellow scarf around her neck, along with a matching yellow utility belt with various pockets to store gems.
Her arms, palms and lower legs are wrapped in protective bandages to minimize damage from her highly physical combat style.
Personality
Astrid is a serious and determined person with a strong sense of duty. She prioritizes combat skills and achieving her goal.
Relationships
Ghael
Ghael is Astrid’s trainer, and something of a mother to her. Ghael strenuously trains both Kat and Astrid to inherit her mantle of “strongest witch in the kingdom.” She provides a safe home and routine for the girls. She is very protective of them, but seldom provides much in the way of emotional support for them. The girls wish for a closer relationship with Ghael, but she often seems too preoccupied. Ghael and Astrid’s moral compasses are closely aligned, meaning sometimes they keep things from Kat.
Grub
Grub and Astrid were once best friends, but their relationship has faded a bit over the years. Astrid is normally very serious, while Grub is prone to slacking off. Grub vows to protect Kat and Astrid when the three go on missions for Ghael, even though they are clearly much more powerful than he is. If only subconsciously, Astrid feels that Kat drove a wedge between her and Grub.
Kat
Astrid and Kat are sisters, teammates, and rivals all at once. Kat respects and is very proud of the hard work Astrid puts in. Astrid is happy to have Kat as her ally, but also desires to overcome her sister’s natural spellcasting advantage through sheer determination. When the relationship is strained, the rivalry can bring contention, but most of the time the sisters work brilliantly as a duo.
Riza
Riza is something like Astrid’s “cool aunt” who lets her stay up late and eat dessert for dinner. When dealing with Ghael, Riza is very professional, but when the girls visit she gives them the freedom she knows they lack at home. Astrid often asks Riza to train her in hand-to-hand combat and other rogue abilities, which Riza is happy to do.
Phoebe
Phoebe was Astrid’s first mother figure, having raised the witch from an infant. Phoebe cared for and protected Astrid for years, as she does all of her adopted children. Astrid visits Phoebe and the young witches occasionally, always leaving with a smile.
The Novis
Astrid, along with Kat, Grub, and Riza working under Ghael, is determined to snuff out any remaining branches of The Novis. She wishes to finish the work of her predecessors and dispose of any remaining cultists.
Abilities and Powers
Magic
Like all witches, Astrid can pull the energy out of elemental gems and use it to defend against that element, or to unleash offensive spells. What sets Astrid apart is her dexterity in battle. Most witches rely solely on their magical abilities, while Astrid has trained with Riza to hone her reflexes and coordination far beyond that of an average person. This enables her to nimbly avoid attacks, and get the upper hand on other witches in close quarters. Astrid can also pull an impressive amount of energy at once thanks to her determination and training with Ghael. She specializes in electrical attacks from volt gems.
Combat
Astrid is very skilled at hand to hand combat, which combined with her physical prowess and magic has earned her the nickname "Astrid the Dextrous". Her fighting style combines gemstone magic with fast ninja-like movements to overpower an enemy before they can retaliate.
History
Legend of the Light Gem
Ch.1: Legend of the Light Gem
In “Which Witch Won?” Astrid spars with Kat, and they are very evenly matched. In “ Legend of the Light Gem” Ghael recounts the titular legend, before instructing Astrid, Kat, and Grub to venture to Shinrin to investigate rumors of a light gem having been produced there. In “Another Adventure” Astrid, Kat, and Grub venture east through Forsyth Forest, toward Shinrin. They joke around and grab little gifts for each other along the way.
In “Silver the Sinister” Grub, by light of campfire, tells Astrid and Kat the legend of Grand Demon Silver. His story is briefly interrupted when he has to regurgitate an elemental gem. In “Discord Explored” Astrid, Kat, and Grub meet Ulric and Larv as they investigate the rumors and conflicts of Shinrin. They bring the two together to sort things out, but the Shifting Sands show up. In “The Sandstorm Sudden” Astrid, Kat, and Ulric fight the Shifting Sands, while Grub and Larv hide. Once the scale tips in the trio’s favor, Ulric shoos the bandits away. In “A Confounding Find” Astrid, Kat, and Grub spend the night at Larv’s house. Once everyone else is asleep, Astrid sneaks around the house and discovers that the light gem is fake. She also finds a stash of Shifting Sands weapons.
In “Rematch / Dispatch” Astrid and Kat fight Ulric and several Shifting Sands. When they work together as a team, they are very formidable. In “The King’s Right Hand” Astrid, Kat, and Grub hand Ulric over to Garth and Wade. In “Ghael the Grey” Astrid, Kat, and Grub recap the events from Shinrin to Ghael. The girls are disappointed to be referred to simply as Ghael’s students during a brief confrontation with Shifting Sands that had followed the trio from Shinrin.
Ch.4: Arcana Profane
In “Which Witch Two” Astrid and Kat have another sparring session. The fight ends when Astrid slaps Kat’s volt stone away, leaving her vulnerable and thus defeated. In “Til Stigmas Cease” Astrid, Kat, and Grub are tasked with tracking down and stopping a witch from Boraea who has come to Bristol to stir up trouble. In “Steadfast Outcast” Astrid, Kat, and Grub find Nora, and end up fighting her after conversation fails to produce results. In “Chill for a Spell” Astrid and Kat battle Nora and Shina. The witches from the north end up winning the bout, largely due to Nora’s ability to cast ice spells without an elemental gem.
In “ Arcana Profane” the girls tell Ghael of their loss and of Nora’s strange power. Ghael puts them through intense training while Riza tracks the rogue witches down once again. In “Kat and Mouse” Astrid and Kat confront Nora and Shina again. After a brief bout, Kat manages to talk Shina out of fighting, but Astrid and Nora refuse to end things peacefully. In “Mismatch / Impact” Astrid stands back as Garth takes control of the scene. In “At Sixes and Sevens” Astrid and Kat are scolded by Ghael for their second failure against Nora and Shina. Astrid is infuriated when she learns that Kat goes easy on her during their sparring.
Ch.6: The Storm
In “Which Witch Three” Astrid and Kat spar more ferociously than ever before. Astrid pushes Kat to go as hard as she can, and this ultimately leads to Grub having to stop the fight. In “The Calm Before” Astrid, Kat, and Grub are instructed by Ghael to ambush a cult base, which is likely the Novis. It’s obvious that this mission is not to be taken lightly, and Ghael instructs Astrid to “stop them by any means.” In “What Kat Dragged In-” Kat recalls a time when Astrid comforted her in the face of discrimination against witches. She doubts Astrid would respond positively to a similar situation anymore. In “Dark Clouds Converge” Astrid and Kat fight a dozen Novis cultists. Astrid unleashes a shot of lightning right away that should kill several, but they don’t go down. The witches ultimately do manage to dispatch their foes.
In “-What Kat Dragged In-” Kat remembers a fight with Astrid where Astrid essentially argues that criminals almost never change, and aren’t worth trying to reform. In “ The Storm” Astrid, Kat, and Grub continue to fight White Robe. Astrid tosses Kat a volt gem and says that if they both blast him at the same time they can take him out. The cultist manages to knock Grub unconscious, leaving the witches in a desperate situation. Kat, however, is unable to fire the volt gem, having never used one on anyone due to their inherent lethality. Astrid reflects on how Kat always manages to outperform her. Left with no other way to win the fight, Astrid drains two volt gems at once to defeat White Robe, but her heart stops in the process. In “Lightning Strikes Twice” Astrid’s heart is restarted when Kat fires the volt gem into her. In “-What Kat Dragged In” Kat recalls meeting Grub, Astrid, and Ghael for the first time. She fondly remembers the early days of their relationships, and laments the fractures that exist now.
In “A Glimmer in the Gloom” Astrid reflects on how things played out with White Robe. She looks at herself in the mirror, now scarred with twisted electrical burns. She packs a bag and leaves her home, declaring that she won’t return until she’s destroyed the Novis, and surpassed Kat and Ghael in the process.
Trivia
- Astrid's Character