Character Reference

Character Reference

Name: Onyx

Race: Shape-shifter/Dire Panther

Class: Sorceress

Age: 18

Physical Appearances: Onyx can take three forms; human, hybrid, and feline. As a human Onyx has tan skin, waist length black hair, and emerald green eyes. She is small for a human woman with the lean muscular build of a feline.

In her hybrid form she remains a biped, but fur covers her face, her mouth and nose become a feline muzzle, cat ears sprout from the top of her head, and her pupils thin to catâs eyes. She also deploys a set of retractable claws from her fingers and toes. A purely asthetic feature is a long black tail, which hangs to her feet and twitches when sheâs irritable.

Since she is only half-shifter she becomes a regular panther rather than a dire panther. She is half the size of her dire panther brethren but maintains all of the preditorial traits of the giant cat; night vision. She can climb, leap, and land on her feet. In her feline form her sense of smell and hearing are heightened to that of a predator.

Background: Onyx is the daughter of Kyrie the sorcerous and Kyo a former leader of the Dire Panther shifter clan. Her mother died during child birth so it fell to Kyo to raise her. Being a wizard, he taught her all he knew of manipulating the five elements of life; earth, fire, water, air, and spirit. He attempted to present her before the Council of Magic, so she would be assigned to a school of magic to hone her skills. After the Council refused her she vowed to learn the magic on her own and become greater than all of them. Kyo was later killed by Onyxâs half-brother Ido, who has born a grudge against Onyx since the day Kyo left him and his mother to be with his new family.

When Ido became too strong for even the Council of Magic to control, they forcefully recruited Onyx to deal with the situation. Since handing Ido over to the Council, Onyx maintains a tenuous relationship with them.

Equipment and Armor: Onyx carries a staff as tall as her with a piece of black stone set into the three pronged tip. She can cast without the staff but it is useful to focus more power into an element of her choice.

She typically dresses in black. She prefers linen tunics and britches because they tear away easily when she shifts into her feline form. Her accessories include leather riding boots and leather bracers.

Special Skills: Onyx has learned to master her shape-shifting in a way that allows her to use certain aspects of her hybrid form while still maintaining her human form. These aspects include the retractable claws, feline ears, and feline eyes.

Bad Habits: Being half-human and half-shifter leaves her on the outskirts of both societies. Neither wishes to accept her kind and she carries a chip on each shoulder for them. She will not hesitate to defend her own honor or that of her family. She is also not apt to do favors for anyone without receiving something in return.