At first glance, Sanabael could be considered pretty. She has naturally tanned skin, a lovely shade of copper that is lightly gilded and seems to almost glow the sun. She has long hair, the ends just brushing the small of her back; her hair is usually left down, in loose waves, and is a dark chocolate brown, appearing a lighter brown or almost black depending on the lighting. She has an angular face, with high cheekbones and a sharp, square jaw. A strong, straight nose rests above a pair of full lips with a shallow cupid's bow.
The most startling and noticeable feature about Sanabael, one that often tips her appearance from 'pretty' over into 'unsettling', especially around those unfamiliar with her heritage, are her eyes. Sanabael's eyes, resting beneath thick, arched brows, are entirely a shining black. Her sclera, irises, and pupils are all the same shade of jet, marking her as distinctly non-human. Due to her Eypharian heritage, Sanabael also always has a very distinct scent to her, though it is usually quite subtle; it is as if she is constantly wearing a light perfume that is smokey and faintly spicy, almost like cinnamon, with strong amber notes.
Sanabael stands tall for a woman, at 5'11", with long legs and a leanly muscled body, weighing approximately 145 pounds. Her skin is marred with several scars; most distinctly are the pale scars of a blade over her palms and on her chest, just above her breasts. To anyone who is familiar with reimancy, they would recognize the scars as marks of initiation into the magic if they saw them. A tattoo in a simple font runs down her left forearm, reading 'This means nothing'.
Prone to dark colours, Sanabael usually dresses in blacks and greys, though shades of brown and dark red or purple are not uncommon in her wardrobe. She favours pants over dresses or skirts, and enjoys leather. Since learning reimancy, she has taken to wearing black fingerless leather gloves to hide the scars on her palms. She commonly wears a few pieces of jewelry; small golden hoops in her ears, and a black leather choker with a copper buckle around her neck are her usual statement pieces.
If Sanabael's slightly unsettling appearance were not to throw one off, then the almost permanent slight furrow to her brows and faint frown on her mouth might do it, instead. She is rarely in what one would consider a good mood, and is easily irritated and even angered. She is closed off and while capable of socializing, is rarely friendly and avoids giving away unnecessary information about herself. She has a dry and rather dark sense of humour, and is often bitingly sarcastic. She can also be incredibly stubborn, and is very proud.
Despite all this, she is not cold or unfeeling; rather, she is blazing, burning hot. While not generally friendly, she is not aloof and distant, but intense in her anger at the world and potentially others. Sanabael feels deeply and vividly, too intensely for her to keep it bottled up. A life of being an outcast has made her wary and suspicious of others, particularly if they're being kind, and her pride and stubbornness makes her loathe to accept help unless she desperately needs it.
Cynical and pessimistic, she can be bitter, and holds a strong belief that one must do whatever it takes to make it in the world, and that only those fit to survive will; in this regard, her own bitterness can make her cruel. Given the choice between helping someone and not, she will often choose not to unless she has some ulterior motive; guilt will likely plague her afterwards, however. Her inner emotional state is almost always one of turmoil, and she lashes out easily because of this.
Sanabael has experienced betrayal and heartbreak one too many times in her life, and keeps her heart closely guarded because of this. However, if one was able to intrude, they would find her to be not of unpleasant company. Not radically different, but significantly kinder and gentler to those she cares for, Sanabael is fiercely loyal, believing there to be no greater sin than betrayal. Just as her anger runs deep, so does her love, and while she is not quickly or easily attached to others, it's hard to get rid of her once she is. She is quicker to laugh around those she is comfortable with, and lets her guard down more easily.
However, if she feels that she has been betrayed by someone, any and all affection will quickly turn to a deep, hurt-filled hatred, and it would be incredibly difficult to regain her trust. Even if you did, it would be fragile and tentative at best for quite awhile, and there certainly would not be a third chance were it to be broken for a second time. Generally an impatient person, she is the type to shoot first and ask later. That being said, Sanabael can become intensely focused on certain things when it is required.
Her intense, borderline aggressive personality is largely due to a deeply rooted sense of self-hatred and feelings of not belonging anywhere; Sanabael is aware that her mixed heritage makes her an outcast and even a freak in the eyes of many, and she despises it. While some mixed bloods are torn between two cultures, Sanabael belongs to neither, and it affects her more than she lets on.
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Sanabael is a born and raised Sunberthian, and she despises her city. Its grime and dirt, its callous nature, its hatred for mages...Sanabael hates everything about Sunberth. For a long time growing up, she held onto the hope of one day leaving the city, but she has since had such thoughts extinguished, and has resigned herself to belonging in the city for the rest of her life.
Her father was a Chaktawe man, named Khajo, who had been living in Sunberth for many years, having long since distanced himself from his people. Her mother was an Eypharian woman, Sharea, travelling north, and had stopped in Sunberth; the two met and found a heated attraction between each other, and had an affair. Neither were expecting for Sharea to become pregnant, but rarely do things go as expected.
Sharea was distraught to find herself pregnant; begrudgingly, she put a hold to her travels to stay in Sunberth and give birth to Sanabael. She was gone before the mixed blood child was even two, leaving Sanabael to be raised by her father.
Khajo, at heart, was not truly a bad man; but he was a drunk and a gambler, and he had a temper. The two of them rarely had money, and Sanabael ran odd jobs around the city as much as she could in an attempt to keep herself and her father clothed and fed. Despite her best efforts, they often went hungry; whenever she failed to bring home enough money, or if there wasn't enough food, or if the house wasn't clean enough, Khajo would yell at her loud enough for the whole street to hear. If he was drunk, he would often beat her as well.
Sanabael grew to despise her father, but her situation was not anything particularly special. There were plenty of children with single parents who had to provide for themselves or their siblings, and who were often beaten; if anything, she was lucky, for she still had a roof over her head.
Eventually, Khajo got himself into trouble with his gambling, and to pay off his debt he sold Sanabael as a slave. This was the first time she would taste betrayal, but certainly not the last. At 15, Sanabael was put to work at the Muted Maiden, a period of time in her life that she refuses to discuss. It was during this time that she met a woman named Callie.
Callie was older than Sanabael, and beautiful, and funny, and smart; she treated her like a human, and talked with her, and Sanabael found herself falling head over heels in love. With Callie's help, Sanabael managed to leave the Muted Maiden by the time she was 19, and the two began living together. Soon after, Callie admitted to Sanabael that she was a mage; fascinated rather than fearful or hateful, Sanabael begged Callie to teach her.
The night that Callie initiated Sanabael into reimancy is not one she'll soon forget; it is her fondest, most bittersweet memory. With open cuts on her palms and chest, she made love to Callie while the other woman invaded every part of her with her res. It was exhilarating and terrifying all at once.
For a time, the two lived together relatively happily; life was the best it had ever been for Sanabael, and in their spare time, in secret, Callie helped her practice reimancy. All the while, she promised Sanabael that one day they would leave Sunberth, and travel somewhere far away, somewhere beautiful where they could live freely and happily. Those promises were what kept Sanabael going for a long time.
Sanabael was 21 when her world came crashing down around her for a second time. She walked in on Callie and another woman in the middle of an intimate moment, where she heard Callie whispering the promises that she'd been telling Sanabael for years. It was a hard slap in the face to realize everything had been a lie. Heartbroken, Sanabael left Callie, and closed herself off entirely from others. Last she heard, Callie had been killed; by who and for what reason, she didn't know, and she no longer cared.
Feeling lost and with no purpose, Sanabael eventually decided to join one of the major gangs in Sunberth despite her distaste for them. The Sun Birth's were too righteous for her tastes, and the Daggerhands too brutish, so Sanabael contacted the Night Eyes via crow. It didn't take her long to hear back, and after a small trial involving identifying some basic poison, she was given a coin with their symbol.
While technically a member of the Night Eyes, Sanabael is only a part of the gang for her own reasons, and is in the process of finding herself a true purpose in the city.
Last edited by Sanabael on August 17th, 2018, 2:39 am, edited 2 times in total.
Last edited by Sanabael on July 14th, 2018, 2:38 am, edited 2 times in total.
Heirloom: Sanabael keeps a gladius that was a gift to her from Callie; her first instinct was to toss the weapon after Callie's betrayal, but it is nice enough, and has served her well so far, so she keeps it. It is a simple steel blade, with a hilt crafted from a dark red wood and bone.
Last edited by Sanabael on July 11th, 2018, 11:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.