Absinthe Novrun
“When the world lays siege to what you are, you tend to build higher walls than most.”
Race- Tiefling
Class- Warlock/Witch
Social Class- Nomad/Peasant
Appearance-
Age 30
Height 5’7”
Weight 135 lbs
Hair Long, down to middle back, black with red/russet highlights
Eye Color Bright, deep green
Absinthe lives up to her heritage mostly in her appearance. Her skin feels tough to the touch, almost like a softer leather. It’s also colored a shade of bright red. Like most tieflings, Absinthe also comes with a set of horns that look like ram’s horns that curl out from the top of her head and corkscrew at her ears. She has tall, sharp ears, like an elf’s. Her hair is long, thick, and dark with red highlights that appear in the right light. She possesses more human-like eyes (with apparent whites), but they have a slightly inhuman quality in that they have a green shade, but it’s a shade that doesn’t seem natural. They have an unearthly glow that is ever present and a hardness that could only come from a life of hardship and little trust. The canines of her top and bottom teeth sharpened into fangs that look deadly, if not frightening, upon first glance. Also typical of her race is the long tail with three bone spikes that poke out near the tip. She isn’t particularly tall, standing at only 5’7”. Overall, observers describe Absinthe as attractive, even voluptuous. Her body curves into a perfect hourglass with large breasts and wide hips. Most people who meet her would swear that a succubus manifested.
Personality-
Absinthe is no stranger to hardship and pain, and while she’ll appear frightening and cold on the outside, she is actually very empathetic and warm on the inside. It shows more towards those whom she knows well and trusts. Because of her race and appearance, Absinthe has seen too much of the dark side of humanity and thus isn’t quick to trust anyone. Truly, her trust is earned and it is long fought for. However, Absinthe often defends the oppressed, the different, or those whom people label monsters solely based on their looks.
Despite her appearance having drawn much negative attention, she has also noticed a different attention that wasn’t altogether unpleasant. Though some find her frightening, others, and even those who view her as a monstrosity, also view her as something of a commodity, something exotic and sexually appealing. She uses her sexuality and body to her advantage, often flaunting herself to anyone that gives her even a hint of a lustful leer.
Absinthe learned from living on the streets to be straightforward about serious topics. Hard truths and bluntness were things that she’s had to learn over time and she is usually unaware that her speech can be hurtful or prying. Her very few friends understand her directness, but they can still take offense at her words and try to teach her to be more subtle about her feelings.
Regardless of her directness, Absinthe does not prefer confrontation. She isn’t particularly shy, but active aggression against her is something that she’s never gotten used to. Even with her warlock powers, Absinthe has never gained the confidence to fight directly, preferring instead to use sneak attacks and subterfuge to win her battles. If not to avoid her problems outright or run away from them.
Backstory- (Urchin)
From the very beginning, Absinthe’s single mother dealt her a hard hand. Her mother, Vi (Vilerianne) Novrun, was a young human woman in a traveling performance troupe. One wouldn’t call Vi idiotic, but perhaps naïve. To end up with a tiefling lover was scandalous at best and taboo at worst. The troupe she traveled with was understanding, and some were kind. Others didn’t much like her choice in bed mate. Those who would have loved to have her as a lover or wife pivoted their jealous eyes to her and spat venomous words when they saw her belly grow with child. They called her “witch, demon lover, devil’s wife” and many names that weren’t all that clever, but hurt the young woman all the same.
Soon a baby girl was born. A baby with red skin, small horns, a tail, fangs, and clawed hands and feet. The birth was rather easy compared to most. The midwife came just as Vi was pushing the last of her daughter through to the world. Growing up in a traveling caravan gave Absinthe a certain outlook on life. One receives nothing freely, and others can take everything. While still young, her mother would not have been considered an exemplary mother, but she was not the worst either. More prone to leaving her child with the elder women of the caravan and going off to perform or to continue to fraternize with the opposite sex. However, she did care about her daughter and would try to spoil her at every opportunity.
Growing up as a tiefling was difficult. The stares were easy enough to overcome over time, especially when Absinthe realized how different she was from the others in her caravan. The name-calling and some physical harassment were harder to ignore. As she grew older, the abuse from the human population grew worse. At thirteen, Absinthe ran into a group of men who decided that they didn’t quite like her green eyes very much. Holding her down as she screamed and struggled, one man pulled out his dagger and sliced her eyes, blinding her.
Blindness was just another thing that Absinthe had to get used to. Bandages were wrapped around her eyes. It made her other senses much sharper and her attitude towards those who would threaten her harsher. She was quicker to run away at the sound of any man and much preferred the silence and yet activeness of the woods. This desire to be among nature would soon reward her. One night while wandering around in the thicker trees, she felt a presence, but couldn’t hear their approach. She stopped and realized that the presence stood right next to her. “Such a broken creature you are,” he said, his voice both commanding and soft. “A beautiful, broken doll.”
Tears fell from Absinthe’s blind eyes, and two warm hands cupped her cheeks. “I think I’d like to see your eyes,” he said, and his hands went up to cover her eyes.
There was a slight burning pain, but as soon as he removed his hands, Absinthe could see once again. She saw she had wandered into the woods, but she was surrounded by small balls of light and a man stood before her, decked in regal robes and with a crown of thorns and antlers. “Beautiful,” he said as he gazed into her fresh eyes. “For the beauty of your eyes, I give you the favor of the Fey, you shall be my extension.”
He bent down and kissed her forehead, and she woke up back in her mother’s caravan. Her mother hailed it as a miracle, but the rest of their traveling group only grew more suspicious of her. At eighteen, Absinthe set out on her own to seek her own fortune and to get away from the prying eyes of the troupe.
“Long Story Short”- A lifetime of hardship and scrapping for what you want can teach you a few things about people. Born to an absentee tiefling father and a lone performing human mother, Absinthe learned many lessons the hard way. Her first lesson being to trust no one, her second lesson being to never trust men, and her third lesson to listen and wait, and run when possible.
At a young age, Absinthe knew that her differences could rub people the wrong way and knew that someday it would come to bite her. After a chance meeting in the woods with an Archfey, her eyes were restored and out of love for her strange and ‘beautiful’ eyes he gave her the favor of the Fey.
She now wanders with her band of friends, performing, stealing, and having fun when she can. She’s known for her talent to disappear at the most opportune times and the innate ability to annoy almost anyone she comes across.