希 Ayumu 美 Nozomi 歩

[Lopez]

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General Information[/color][/center]

Name: (希美歩) Ayumu Nozomi
Nickname: Ayu; Ay
Age: Unknown. Appears: 15
Gender: Female
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Race: Illusory Spirit
Profession: Spirit of Illusions; Warrior; Healer; Rogue; Illusionist

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~ A work of art is the result of a unique temperament ~

[/i][/font]Personality

One Word to Describe Your Character: Reflective


Likes:

Company
Acknowledging others' intelligence
Exploring other points of view
Cracking a riddle
Songs that tell stories
Sad stories
Stories of virtue
Paintings
Artisan crafts
Sparring
Music
Sweethearted boys
Romance
Animals
Mysterious happenings


Dislikes:

Monosyllabic stories
Mundane people
The annoyingly stubborn
Short-tempered people
War
Little communication
Bloodshed
Being kept in a cage
Monarchies
Injustice


Strengths:
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Endurance - Ayumu can withstand a barrage of attacks and still stand, yet not unharmed. Her endurance pays off when she is traveling in harsh climates or when adapting to her surroundings in battle.

Stealth - One of her best strong points, Ayumu is highly skilled in the art of tracking and sneaking about unnoticed. Her Mirage and Imagery techniques are what mainly support her strength in stealth.

Speed - When it comes to getting from place to place, Ayamu doesn't rely on any sort of transportation other than her own two legs. She isn't as fast as a wolf demon, but she's significantly faster than a normal demon, and can run for miles and miles thanks to her endurance, which connects to this strength.

Trickery And llusions - There's no need to explain this very much. She is the Spirit of Illusions, and her powers and abilities speak for themselves. She is good at pretending, playing along and motivating others, so this should cover the "Trickery" part.

Spiritual Connections - As a spirit herself, Ayumu's senses do happen to pick up all things psychic or spiritual. Whether it's paranormal activity or something unexplained or cursed, Ayumu is sure to sense it and get a general feeling of the energy, be it positive or negative.

Senses - Ayumu's five senses are finely-tuned, and are about two to three times sharper than that of a normal human. Like a nocturnal creature, she can see in the dark as well.

Weaknesses:

Fire - Although Ayumu is able to work with some fire-based abilities, when she works with water/ice-based ones, she is particularly weak against fire at that time.

Water - This is the vice-versa of the "Fire" weakness.

Spirit Tamers - People or objects who control the dead, nonliving beings and souls have the ability to brainwash her, rob her powers or quite simply, eliminate her.

Dark Magic - Any human or demon who wields powers connected to the dark in some way is more likely to defeat Ayumu in combat.

Priestesses - Ayumu is obliged (almost required by her own will) to listen to any priestesses' orders.

Solitude - Ayumu is not a spirit who enjoys one's own company. She is more apt to be sociable and keep close to some sort of civilization when she is traveling. Being alone for too long may cause her to tense up later when meeting people, and can oftentimes leave her with a nervous feeling; this is something she does not want to deal with when in combat, as she can be caught off guard on more than one occasion.

Side: Good; but she sticks to her own judgment.

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Suave and compromising. Careful, cautious and organized. Likes to point out people's mistakes. Takes pleasure in being five steps ahead of enemies. Likes to criticize. Stubborn. Childish in battle. Quiet but able to talk well. Calm and cool. Kind and sympathetic. Concerned and detailed. Loyal but not always honest. Does work well. Very confident. Sensitive. Dangerously independent. Is very humble. Very generous. Amazing memory. Enigmatic. Clever and knowledgeable. Loves to look for information. Must control oneself when criticizing. Able to motivate oneself. Understanding. Fun to be around. Secretive. Does not trust easily. Hardly shows emotions. Hates to repeat things over. Tends to bottle up feelings. Very choosy, especially in relationships. Systematic.[/blockquote][/size][/font]~ Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures ~

[/size][/font]Appearance

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• Eye Color: Bright Turquoise
  
• Hair Color: Dark Brown
  
• Weight: 113 lbs
  
• Height: 5 feet 3 in

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History

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~ Etched Into Life ~[/i][/center]

Near the Golden Age of the Feudal Era, there was a clan of "Beatuiful Hope," the Nozomi. Wealth was theirs, and they prospered and kept their bloodline alive for three hundred years. Ever since the dawn of those thirteen generations, they were known as painters.

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~ 1 ~

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The first generation made plans for a picture of a young maiden so beautiful, they wanted her to come to life and walk her way into their world when it was completed. This, of course, was only for their sake: the Nozomi wanted to be legendary. But, they knew that such a painting could never be done in their lifetimes. And so, they conjured a plan, and instructions on how to begin the painting.

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~ 2 ~

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The second generation started what the first one wished: they began to search for a maiden whose face would be used as a model for their sketch. It was incredibly hard, finding a godess among the many young women in their part of the world. Priestesses offered their faces, but were turned away. Maids, prostitutes, children and warriors were brought in to be modeled, but none were taken in. One man of the second generation of the Nozom had a dream. A beautiful, young spirit came to him and whispered words of a different, wondrous language. She sang, she wept, she screamed, and she continued showing all human emotions in a moment. As soon as she had appeared, she vanished, as if she was never there. The next day, the Nozomi man died of a weak heart, but only after he drew the spirit maiden as she had first appeared to him. She was almost alive.

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~ 3 ~

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That man was the last of the second generation, and immediately after his burial, the third generation began. In a flash they searched far and wide for the materials they needed. The finest pelts of cattle and equines alike were searched and picked apart for the tedious work of putting together hairs for the brushes that would be used to paint the picture. Exactly one thousand brushes were made for preparation. When the final brush was put together by the only elder of the third generation, he passed away in his sleep, knowing that the next step was left for those whom he'd left behind.

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~ 4 ~

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A Nozomi maiden took it upon herself to search for the perfect wood that would be used to create paper. She had good knowledge on how to make paper, and she practiced and practiced with wood that was nearby. One day she had gone out to fetch water from the river, and soon she saw a silver tree whose bark glistened in the warm sunlight. There were hardly any dents or scratches or animals who lived within the tree. The woman hardly believed what she saw, for a tree to be this untouched was almost impossible. The task of cutting down the tree was slow and painful. Blades of every shape and size were used to slice it from the base bit by bit. Finally, by the time the woman saw her boys return from war, the tree fell, and fell and fell. The whole clan chopped off the silver pieces, pounding them and chipping them to be made into paste. When the woman was near death, what was left of the tree was drying in a hair-thin, silky smooth layer upon a wire sheet specially forged for this task. The woman passed away, leaving her two sons to take up the task of etching the first lines to create the Nozomi spirit.

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~ 5 ~

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The two sons were quite different, although they were twins. Identical on the outside, completely different within. One wanted the sketch to be done by himself, the other wanted the vice-versa. However, the first generation's instructions were to create the maiden's sketch in a completely symmetrical pattern; she was to be facing out and away from her world within the painting. Her eyes were meant to be half-open, dreamy and powerful at the same time. The twins, the fifth generation, came to a decision. They would have a contest: whoever finished their side first and was considered more lifelike was the winner. The left-handed twin would work on the right-side of the maiden's visage. The right-handed one would work on her left side. They had the same idea in their minds, and so they worked their way up from her shoes to her hair. This was their purpose for the remainder of their lives. The brothers mirrored each other in their work, and as one finished etching the maiden's arm, the other finished that part as well. Slowly they worked, and deftly the sketch came to be. By the time they reached her head, they had grown white beards, and had aged faces. The painting's eyes were last, and when the two finished, they died of exhaustion, but they died happy for their four children were of age to continue the work.

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~ 6 ~

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Four children, four tasks. The essence of the four seasons were meant to be depicted behind the maiden's portrait, according to the first generation. Two of the children were men, the other were women. One of the women was winter, and the other was summer. One of the men was in charge of sketching the mere spring, and the other was to complete a sketch of the fall. Each of the sixth generation of the Nozomi labored on all four corners of the silver paper. Spring was born and nurtured to it's green, lush health in the bottom-left; this corner represented the birth of life. Summer rampaged the top-left, blaring it's searing heat; it symbolized the prime of one's life. Old age and unwinding of life's strings and memories could be seen with the withering leaves of autumn in the top-right. And finally, the winter's wind and snow gripped the bottom-right corner; it symbolized death and dormant life. As those before had given their lives to this very painting, the four kin ceased to live, and brought more Nozomi descendants into the age-old work.

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~ 7 ~

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As the Nozomi ancestors were completely dedicated to this cycle of life and death, it became more and more like a curse. In fact, it was. When this seventh generation approached the now completed, life-like sketch of the girl, they needed to create the colors that would be used to bring it to life. Color recipes were not included in the original manual of the first generation, but they did mention to make the picture as real as possible. Each of the four Nozomi who'd previously sketched the four seasons left behind two children, for there were eight Nozomi now ready to make recipes for the paint. Each was in charge for a specific color: Red, Blue, Yellow, White, Black, Green, Purple, and Orange. All of these colors were found in the world that surrounded their home. Berries, crushed fruit, flowers and even animals were used for the dyes. Now, this seventh generation did not create the dyes; they gathered the supplies for them to be created and so made instructions for what colors to mix for what part of the painting. Red was found in roses and blood of sparrows. Blue could be found in the radiant morning glories and irises that littered the plains. Yellow was found in flowers as well, but aslo in a solution of sulphur, and so took more time to collect. Black ink found in octopuses and squids were collected not only for paint, but for the final linework. White was made of chalk in the mountains, much like the sulphur mixture for the yellow. Green was to be produced using plant fibers, mainly grass. Purple was made from a special kind of snail that was crushed to reveal the irridescent color. And finally, orange was made with what other flowers these Nozomi could find. As the last supplies and instructions for mixing the colors were made, one by one the eight were laid into the Nozomi Monastery, where all the descendants, from the very first to the present Nozomi were buried.

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~ 8 ~

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A curse it seemed, a curse it was. The eighth generation was made up of only five. One was a maiden, the rest were her younger cousins. She took charge in the inking of the girl, while her bretheren inked the seasons. Sea squid ink was used throughout the picture, as well as octopi ink. The whole picture seemed to pop off the page, twirling and swirling in the fury of nature behind the namless girl. Time and time again the Nozomi ebbed and flowed with their lives, and what happened to their ancestors came to pass to them.

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~ 9 ~

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The ninth generation of Nozomi were made up of only two children. Both of which were girls. They painted in the backgrounds of each of the seasonscapes. A bright blue sky swept behind the foliage of spring, a warmer blue was used for summer, a white, transparent blue was used for autumn's cloudy skies, and finally winter was glazed with snow-powdered horizons. With expertise they worked, and they made sure every part of it was perfect. Perfection drove them to insanity. Insanity drove them to ill health. Ill health came upon them like a shadow and took them to their resting places in the Monastery.

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~ 10 ~

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This time three boys were born; two of one maiden before them, and the other from her kin. Spring would be first to be brought to life. A spectrum of flowers littered the grassy fields, birds' silhouettes were scattered. The bottom-left corner had been filled with life. Once more perfection slaughtered the men's lives gradually, and the next generation resumed the work.

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~ 11 ~

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Each of the three men of the tenth generation had two sons, and they labored upon the summer's and autumn's essences. An unforgiving green and fiery yellow bathed the top-left corner. It was almost as if one could step straight into the three panels of the painting; it had progressed exactly like the first generation had wanted it to. Autumn was showered in leaves of gold, red, and bright yellow. The leaves looked as if though they would crumble to the touch and fall into one's hands. Eventually the painting took the men's lives with grace, passion and even gratitude for the work they had done. It was time for them to rest.

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~ 12~

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Only two of the six previous Nozomi sons had a child. Two girls were to take up the task of painting the harsh claw of winter in the bottom-right corner. White was used most of the time, unless grey mountains peered above the horizon. The snow was real to anyone who saw the painting, and the girls would be frightened with dreams of being frozen in the very work they labored over. The two died soon after winter's chill surfaced in the last corner; both of their faces were blue, as if they died in a blizzard.

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~ 13 ~

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A sole Nozomi man was left to finish the painting. Gone were the days of the powerful Nozomi. Gone were his mother, and his father, and everyone he'd known. This man's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather was the one who had the vision of the maiden; the one who started it all. It was now his task to finish it. He worked his way up from her feet to her fact, painting her skin, her clothes, her armor, everything of hers the right color. Not a single mistake was made before him. He had to make sure that her eyes were not flawed, for he believed that they were the most important of all. He toiled, toiled, toiled. Day and night he slaved over her physique, and her lifelikeliness. On the day he finished, on the day he dyed her eyes with a livid turquoise, he'd given her his life. The painting was no longer a painting, but a window to the spirit's world. A door for her to pass into the real world. He backed away, astonished that she was breathing, blinking, watching him drop the brushes he'd held in his hand to create her. Her heartbeat shook the painting's edges as a drop of water ripples the surface of a still pool. When she opened her eyes, she floated out of the painting. The man, astonished, died of a heart attack, but only after uttering the word, "Ayumu," to her. His last word was both a command to "Walk your own way," and for her it was a new name. The masterpiece's title. Ayumu knew she was one of the Nozomi; she was, in fact, the very reason for their skill in art and illusions of things to make them come alive. And so, she repaid the thirteen generations by forging their skeletons with the metal from the house, and from the wire that had made the silver paper.

To this very day, Ayumu walks her own way, carrying the remains of those who brought her to life with her, keeping the Nozomi forever alive.

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The Word? Juniper

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