[Bijuu] Yennefer of Latria {The Witcher}

General Information

Name:
Yennefer of Latria

Alias:
Yen, Yenna, Horsewoman of War

Age:
Looks wise: mid 30s
Really: A couple of centuries - her real age remains a matter of debate

Origin Game:
The Witcher

Homeland:
The Kingdom

Faction:
The Tevinter Imperium - The Imperial Senate
Lodge of Sorcerers
Burning Cabal

Gender:
Female

History:
Latria. A tiny region of Tevinter long forgotten by its masters. As a local describes it: "You want to describe a proper fucking shithole to a noble? Latria is your answer." A relatively successful mining town way back when, it lost its purpose and relevance rapidly as the Imperium expanded and found more riches elsewhere. Now, it's barely considered a part of the nation. The stench of poverty spreads well past its miniscule borders, bringing in very few new inhabitants, mainly religious missionaries and small bands of humanitarian aid folks. Even they would quickly depart, as there was little to save. Those who stayed in Latria had been there from the start. Either unable or unwilling to leave the place they begrudgingly called home. One would not be blamed for disbelieving that the great sorceress Yennefer's story began here.

Yen was born to a half-elf (and a mage in a past life) mother and human father. Both came to Latria when it was still considered a decent place for working families. Being born with congenital hunchback, Yennefer was immediately an object of disdain for her father. It was simple to blame her mother. With her mage past and elven blood, not to mention a past abortion. All easy and prime candidates for any deformity. Yen knew little peace in that time, her father's "disciplinary" actions (to put it mildly) were scarring. Father eventually left his family to be with another. Mother, who had until then protected Yennefer as a sort of divine duty, as she put it, blamed her daughter and continued the abuse.

In a twisted boon from fate, Yen would soon be released from the clutches of her previously loving mother. Near Latria was the Aretuza school for sorceresses, who occasionally visited its surrounding provinces to buy those with magical potential. A common practice throughout Tevinter, it was not necessarily public knowledge, but an open secret nonetheless. Yennefer was bought for a single gold coin by rectoress Tissaia de Vries herself. So began Yen's lengthy tenure at Aretuza's, which would truly set her on the path of becoming one of the most feared sorceresses in Tevinter.

Yen's time at the school was by no means simple. The training was rigorous and left little room for error. Yennefer's fragile mental state drew her to self-harm, nearly ending her life in the process. Tissaia however commended Yennefer for her purposefulness in the act, claiming it to be the only reason to not feel contempt for her weakness and took her close under her wing to shape Yen. She became a graduated sorceress by the age of 13. In accordance with tradition, when Yennefer became strong enough, her physical flaws were magically removed. This drastically increased her lifespan and already impressive abilities. However, as an unfortunate side-effect for many sorceresses, Yennefer was rendered infertile. Something she has had a difficult time letting go of to this day.

Now a full fledged sorceress, Yennefer's journey took her to many local imperial courts as a court mage. During one of her "internships," for the lack of a better word, Yennefer was tasked with escorting and acting as a partial liaison between a local lord and one in Hyrule. The purpose was the resolution of a minor scuffle from years ago, which genuinely bore no weight on grander court dealings, but she dutifully acted along still. There, she met Geralt of Rivia, a Witcher for The Guild. While their interaction was briefer than both sides perhaps preferred, they left significant impressions on one another regardless. However, Yennefer's own path took precedent.

While she never gained solid footing in any of the minor courts she served in, her reputation had been slowly but surely spreading throughout the Imperium. Enough to gain the attention of influential magistrates and other mages to draft her into the Lodge of Sorcerers. Prestigious in most circles, but secret to the public, the Lodge dealt in matters that most directly affected the Imperium. All the while staying in the shadows. However, Yennefer, being who she is, didn't play too well with her mates. But she had proven her mettle time and again to be simply ousted from the group. So to this day the Lodge remains a collective of begrudging allies, some of whom have actually become more or less friends of Yen, as light as the term may be.

After years of dutiful service, Yennefer was inaugurated into the Imperial Senate proper and became a founding member of the Burning Cabal. Handpicked alongside the likes of The Invoker and Cornelia Arnim, the Cabal became a public show of power, a statement. Tevinter was not to be trifled with.

Despite Tevinter's show of strength, the White War was an inevitability. Decades-long tensions between Tevinter and Demacia reached a boiling point, erupting in an all out war. It was the first time in many long years where Yennefer contemplated her place in the conflict. She wasn't sure if her heritage should sway her to one side or the other. Ultimately, she stayed true to her duties within the Lodge and for Tevinter. Whether it was the right choice, is another matter. Still, she proved a valuable asset to the Tevinter cause. Even though they lost the war, the Cabal's efforts were instrumental in gaining even a temporary edge over Demacia. Yennefer has since then retained her positions and has continued to be a vital part in enforcing Tevinter's supremacy. In the midst of this, though, Yen has quietly began to seeds of doubt taking root. Is she doing the right thing? Is she on the right side? Why are these small kernels now invading her mind and sense of self, something she's been sure of for so long?

Yennefer's past is storied and not everything can be said in short summation. Now though, various questions plague her, a woman who is almost never hesitant and rarely not ruthless. But it is beyond dispute that she is a capable woman who is far more than the sum of her parts. One can hope that her determination and wisdom lead her in her truest direction.

Drive:
Yennefer's increasing (and very personal and quiet) identity crisis has driven her to look into her past, to uncover who she really is and who she could be and whether everything that happened to her, happened as she remembered it. She wants a proper sense of identity and ultimately: love



Visuals

Image:
Visual Appearance:
Yennefer of Latria is a striking mix of natural and artificial. While not public knowledge, it is a persistent rumor that a large portion of Tevinter sorceresses rid themselves of anything perceived as a deformity once they are skilled enough. Yennefer is no different, though she doesn't see it as debilitating, but rather something she actively wanted. Her decision wasn't based on upholding a Tevinter ideal. It was beneficial to her and she has grown to use what she was given very effectively. She is a tall woman, beautiful, but threatening, with sharp features well suited for the person she is. Her lengthy hair, raven black, stylized as a wave of curls, moves as she does with meticulous precision. Something that has been present even before her transformation, only magnified by it. Yennefer smells distinctly of lilac and gooseberries, a perfume she never plans to replace.

Her skin is pale, making even the smallest features stand out. Though likely her most distinctive feature is her eyes. Cold and glistening in violet, they pierce through anyone looking. Eyes that have seen more than most can fathom, more than most should see. When angered, they switch to a blue-gray fire, blazing as the sorceress smites whoever dared to provoke her ire. She stands with imperiousness, moving with effortless grace, her voice sonorous and vibrant. Everything about of Yennefer has been both given and made with purpose, meant to instill feelings of power and respect from those fortunate enough to interact with her.

Clothing/Armor:
A woman of exquisite style, Yennefer always has the right things to wear for any occasion. That is, frankly, largely due to the help of magic, but also because of her developed sense of style. But in her personal case, she keeps portions of her attire simple. Like wearing almost exclusively black and white. And when she does add colour, it's always something to complement her existing colour scheme. She combines fur, leader and feather more often than not, contrasting them with gentler materials like linen. Her outfits can vary, but they're usually meant to be both striking in appearance and utilitarian in use. She likes the freedom of movement, even when wearing a dress. Heels are a common addition to whatever she's wearing and Yennefer has outstanding skill in moving in them like it was nothing.

Yen's typical garment of choice (and her most worn one) is an enchanted outfit of her own making. Looking both very practical and suitable to attend a soiree, the attire can withstand more damage than your regular clothing can. The suit consists of black, thigh-high strapped boots, leggings with white patterns, a long-sleeved white dress shirt, and a leather reinforced vest with exquisite floral patterns. Her gloves follow a similar route as everything else, being topped off with fur finishes. In addition, fur also covers the upper portion of her back, chest and shoulders.


Personality
Yennefer is a woman whose personality is directly reflective of her upbringing and later path, showing rather plainly who she is. However, add to it her own realizations and development of her character, it all becomes far murkier and more unclear. Coming from a life of constant hardship, Yen was forced to adapt until it became second nature. She was a chameleon to a certain point, in a way. Until she realized what parts of her served her best and how to keep her sanity in the process. She was left with little room for emotion, because a world like hers was unforgiving. You either succumb to it, or make it bend to your will. As Yen herself says, one of the most pathetic things a sorceress can do is cry.

As such, Yen is seen as a woman with more negative traits than positive. Manipulative, scornful, stubborn to no end, no-nonsense, and cold to those she deems unworthy. She is a seasoned master in controlling her emotions and what she wants to project to the outside world. These are all aspects that have allowed her to attain positions of power and influence. Whether she actually wants that, is another matter, but she will not decline an opportunity to better her own standing. This, as she herself freely admits, is selfish. Ruthlessness is a boon in Tevinter. She makes such decisions willingly, simply because she wants to. For herself. And that means something in a world where one can seldom put personal desire before the state or some other higher power. Even Yennefer's political aspirations and devotion to grander causes are motivated by selfish desire, no matter how small the desire. She is perhaps the antithesis of a standard Tevinter mage in that regard.

It additionally feeds into Yennefer's perhaps most significant trait: being a lone wolf. Indeed, her relative selfishness feeds into that greatly. A woman with few friends and even fewer those whom she could consider more than that. While she serves Tevinter and is part of its prestigious and influential government, the results she provides are, more often than not, a result of Yennefer's personal plans and strategies. She isn't uncooperative, she simply knows better most of the time. It has naturally caused rifts between her and her fellow members of the respective organizations. Yennefer cares little about their thoughts. Or about most others' for that matter. The experience that she's accumulated over her many years of existence has little competition. They do not know what she has been through, what she has sacrificed, and what ruthlessness it took to get where she is now. Nor do they deserve to know. Yen doesn't need their pity. She has enough of her own to fill an ocean.

So it comes as no surprise that Yennefer has built walls to protect herself from just that. Vulnerability kills and she has all the intention in the world to live as long as she's able. But what she ultimately wants is to demolish those walls until not even the tiniest pebble remains. An exceedingly difficult task. Her walls prevent her from having the courage and strength to pursue her true desires. Yen is steadfast in her belief that she is unable and unworthy to love and be loved. She deems it impossible for someone like her who has done the things she has. So she doubles down on being a sorceress. Taking part in Tevinter's machinations with the secret hope of eventually reaching a point where she can be who she really wants to be.

Yennefer became who she is now because of her environment and her own resilience to not let it consume her. And while she isn't exactly the person she thought she would have become, Yen knows herself fully and lives with it. Because what other option is there?



Weapons/Items

Pendant

Whatever Yennefer wears or wherever she goes, her pendant is always with her. Shaped like a marigold, with a golden star (or a pentagram) glistening in the middle, adorned with diamonds. It acts as a talisman and an object of power for her, as she can channel more potent magic through it and boosts her already impressive abilities. When in use, it begins to brightly shine.

Megascope

Quoting Yennefer's old acquaintance Philippa Eilhart: "Megascopes and toothbrushes - deeply personal possessions."

The megascope is a magical device with a plethora of applications, though most commonly used for communication, teleportation and espionage. The apparatus consists of three stands, each fitted with a sort of magnifying glass and a precisely polished flawless crystal. The crystal immerses itself in the user's magic, aiding and enhancing the caster's magic in return. The combined energies flow through the lenses, connecting all three stands and producing the user's desired effect. The more powerful the magic, the more functions they can use and with much less chance of error. The megascope essentially tears into the fabric of space to achieve its desired effects.

Precision is perhaps the single most vital part of using the megascope. The user's intention, magic concentration and the crystals must be clear and flawless. Otherwise, at best, the user risks damaging the device and failing to make it work. At worst, the megascope can rip the user apart, depending on the severity of the flaws. Those include: the device being tampered with or something interfering with their function. Certain substances and energies are known to disrupt the usability of the megascope and can, among with the aforementioned consequences, destroy the crystal(s). Megascope crystals are also notoriously difficult to make, requiring time and more patience than some can afford.

The megascope is a tool with a lengthy history and tainted/notorious reputation, enforced by those who have lacked the necessary finesse and prowess to properly use it, as well as the risks it imposes. It is also considered by many to be an outdated tool, making its scarce usage all the more surprising whenever someone actually does so. As such, it isn't widely used among mages, with the notable exception being the Lodge of Sorcerers. Even then, not every member of the Lodge has one of their own, but they do have several spread throughout vital locations in Tevinter (and perhaps elsewhere). Each megascope is linked to one another, making its usage easier.

Magical Tools
Aside from her talisman and the megascope, Yennefer employs a variety of magic related tools in her arsenal. They range from staves to grimoires to alchemy sets and whatever else necessary to aid her in anything magic-related. They're typically used to produce spells or potions that cannot be simply conjured or to enhance existing things of the same nature. Yennefer takes great pride in her equipment and any mage who sees themselves as above these vital supplementary tools is someone who does not deserve her respect.

Abilities/Powers

Magic
Showing magical potential from a very young age, Yennefer had grown into an exceptional sorceress. A portion of her potential can be attributed to her quarter-elven heritage, but it's absolutely mostly a testament to her rigorous work ethic and resolve. Yennefer's skill is known throughout Tevinter and stories about her reach far beyond her homeland's borders. Her prowess encompasses a plethora of fields, but has honed select ones to their absolute peak. These days, Yen is more known as an advisor than a battlemage, though she remains notorious for her usage of elemental magic and especially for harnessing its destructive potential. She once stopped two charging armies by manipulating the very earth they stood on, making an area near them and around her exceedingly unstable. While that was accomplished through the amplifying powers of her pendant, it remains an impressive feat nonetheless.

Many mages have trained in the use of most elemental magic paths, but typically choose one to focus on at some point. For Yennefer, it's lightning and by extension, weather. The latter is a difficult force to control in any circumstance, so that is a feat saved for occasions when few other options are available. Lightning, however, is another story. Yennefer's expertise in that particular element allows her to both control natural lightning and create it herself. Despite being magical in nature, it has the properties you'd expect, albeit with a little more oomph added to it. Naturally occurring lightning is more powerful to use, while that which she can conjure on her own is more beneficial to use in quick succession and still carries a near-fatal charge.

In addition to the elements, Yennefer is skilled in illusion magic. This encompasses simple to complex illusions, as well as mind control to a degree. Yen mainly uses it for persuasion or intimidation, should her impressive social skills fail her. It is often the simplest way to get information out of someone and illusion has many uses. Her standard method, and a cruel one, is instilling the illusion of pain in a subject. No physical injury is made, but the mind will be scarred, the severity depending on the subject along with the length and intensity of the ability.

As is the cases with most mages, Yennefer can also teleport without the aid of a megascope. This ability is also far more convenient, as it allows her to take multiple people with her, though large groups tend to be very taxing. However, she still needs to know where she's going. Teleporting through these means has also proven to provide fellow travelers with adverse side-effects. Vomiting and dizziness being the most common.

While Yennefer doesn't use healing magic often, she is still versed in it to a degree. In that case she limits it to herself or a few other people and is able to heal moderate to somewhat severe injuries. Her skill in healing does the job where needed, most times, but isn't something she tends to boast about. When able, Yennefer delegates the healing to someone else.

However, despite her lack of potent healing skills, Yen is very capable with defensive magic. Shields and force fields are almost always present when she's on the battlefield, be those shields only on her or on others. These tend to be fairly strong as well, able to withstand more damage than most would expect. Though she often tends to boost them with additional magical tools, especially when the shield needs to be up for extended periods of time. Still, few should expect Yennefer to be vulnerable at any given moment.

As if to offset her healing and defensive capabilities, another one of Yen's notorious skills is limited necromancy. Bringing the dead back isn't a favourite pastime of hers, but it has proven to be useful in the past. Particularly when useful information can be gained. She seldom brings back corpses for combat purposes. Rather, she uses them for intelligence. This all depends on the state of decay of the subject and what Yennefer wants to know. Specificity is the name of the game here and time is of the essence when Yennefer resorts to this. Her way of using the skill is extremely painful to the subject, despite them being dead. They gain sentience for the period the spell is active. In addition, necromancy uses a lot of energy, meaning that whenever she does so, it gradually sucks the life out of her surroundings. Even people who are close enough, begin to feel exhausted and weaker as it continues. While there are those, who are far more skilled in necromancy than she is, they're often not as specific as her version is.

It goes without saying that Yennefer is knowledgeable in more magics than just the ones listed, her range of spells, magic and potions spreads wide, some more surprising than others. One thing is for certain, however. Yennefer is a dangerous and valuable asset to The Tevinter Imperium.

Keen Intellect
Yennefer's magical ability may be her signature skill, but it is her equally (if not more) impressive intellect that has kept her in positions of power for many years. She is socially adept and even with her personality, Yen is a smooth operator in the political field. She is keenly aware where her social charm works best and where her no-nonsense attitude with advisory is best suited. Yennefer knows people and knows people who know people. There are few issues where Yen doesn't know a suitable person for resolving them, aside from herself. After all, mages don't hold significant political status for just being able to kill someone at the utterance of a spell. Especially in Tevinter. Her intellect extends to battle strategies, albeit those are largely relegated to magic use and how mages are best utilized.

She is equally aware of the history of her world and the greater threats that loom on the horizon. While not a historian or a bookkeeper, per se, she is rarely out of the loop. As such, she is practically always aware of issues that require solutions. No matter the threat, however significant or not, Yen has a possible solution. Be it by her own merit or by someone else's. Mages are often seen as problem solvers in more ways than one and have a natural affinity for research. Yennefer is no different, though she does fancy more direct and immediate proposals for addressing a situation. But that's more just her personality. In any case, Yen remains a vital mind of Tevinter's Imperial Senate, regardless of what some of her compatriots may say.



Roleplay Sample

The crackling was like a mixture between static and fireworks. An unwanted side-effect that persisted nonetheless, but it was something Lodge members dealt with. Yennefer's megascope sprung to life, creating a life-sized window into what seemed to be a bedchamber. While she could make out certain details, the strangely inverted black and white image made the entire thing seem otherworldly. Alas, that was a common occurrence with magic. Things that perhaps somewhat made sense until they absolutely didn't. Things that looked normal until they didn't. Even the voice of fellow member Philippa Eilhart was slightly distorted. It mattered little still. What was important was why the two convened.

"Philippa. You look well."

"Glad to see your vision is still intact."

The two had never truly seen eye to eye. They were very similar, but operated as differently as if they were either of a separate species. The common onlooker wouldn't notice it. They did. Yennefer had also never truly cared much for the Lodge. A pompous collective of insufferable magistrates. Philippa, as unpleasant as she often was, did happen to be most similar to Yen in those regards. There was begrudging respect between them. Still, they had plenty of their own quarrels. Now wasn't the time, however.

"I trust you have it?"

"I do hope you've taken precautions. Archon may not care himself, but he has his little annoying spies everywhere."

"Spare me the patronizing tone."

"Right."

The tension and sarcasm were palpable, even through a magical screen. More importantly though, Philippa had what Yennefer had reached out for. It wasn't something she did lightly, but she knew that her fellow sorceress had contacts and knowledge that Yennefer needed. She could've gotten her information on her own, but her path was... messier. Philippa was merely unpleasant. An acceptable trade. Yennefer took the information Philippa provided, to heart. She wasn't sure if it would actually lead to anything, but it was as good as she would get for now. That would have to do. Yen realized what she would have to say next. She sighed.

"Thank you, Philippa. Truly."

"Mm. You best find what you're looking for, Yennefer. Suspicion is ever present in these lands."

A very brief exchange of ending pleasantries followed and the megascope crackling dissipated as quickly as the magically induced screen did. Philippa was right, as much as Yen hated to admit it. But she had something to follow up on. That was pleasing enough.