Name: Jalana
Age: 16
5'1", petite body shape (like a little girl, to her everlasting dismay); waist-length, ebony-black hair; violet eyes. Usually has hair pulled back from her face in a braid. She has a rather large scar on her left thigh, and always wears black, no-nonsense clothes--long pants or skirt (to cover up that nasty scar) with a plain tunic and a pair of scruffy boots. Not one to dress up, unless for very special occasions, then she cleans up rather nicely. The only piece of jewelry she has is an old gold locket that looks to have been beautiful at one time.
Present--Limited Foreseeing/Dreaming, can only remember fragments of her visions/dreams. Occasional psi energy balls, but only during times of great personal danger or distress (not controlled). Not much of a physical fighter, but is able to hold her own for a short (and I stress SHORT) time in hand-to-hand combat. Carries a small, almost ornamental dagger in her belt.
Future--Will learn fighting skills (basic self-defense, knife work) before anything else since at this point she is very reluctant to develop her other talents. There is also the problem of locating a suitable teacher. Later on, she will come to terms with her extra abilities and begin to seriously learn how to control her powers. She will eventually be able to induce visions by going into a trance and Dreaming, as well as defend herself with more developed psi power (energy balls and shield).
Has a quick smile for everyone, and tends to hide her unhappiness behind a polite veneer. Will fall into periods of brooding or depression, especially if she was just criticized or made a mistake.
Always rises before dawn to greet the sun, a special ritual developed by her mother to help her cope with restless dreams/premonitions. Has the nervous habit of chewing the ends of her hair. Unconsciously plays with the locket around her neck when she is worried.
Is a perfectionist at heart, doesn’t take criticism well. Every time she makes a mistake, or someone criticizes her, she becomes lost in a sea of self-doubt and uncertainty, then retreats behind a cold, polite facade. During these bouts of depression, she disregards any danger to herself. Tends to be too trusting and gullible, even after repeated attempts by her friends to warn her about the cruel, harsh world.
Jalana is an only child, born to Ramiel and Kayla, from a small farming community just east of ______ (I'm not too familiar with the geography of this world yet...I'll think of where she is from later). Her parents were an older couple, middle-aged. Having given up hope of ever conceiving a child years ago, Kayla's pregnancy came as a welcome surprise. Unfortunately, Jalana's father, Ramiel, died from an undiagnosed illness soon after her birth. In order to support the two of them, Kayla was forced to give up the small plot of land her husband had worked so hard to buy, and take a job as a housemaid in the home of the richest man in the village, Torl. Luckily, Torl was a kind man, and treated Kayla and Jalana like members of his family. As a result, Jalana was able to get the best schooling, alongside Torl's own grandchildren.
When she was 12 years old, Jalana began to have disturbing dreams, yet she never managed to remember them upon waking. Sometimes, these dreams would be so intense, that she would wake up screaming. As the dreams began to occur more frequently, she was able to recall fragments from these nightmares. It wasn't until she began to describe the images to her mother did they realize these images were actually foretelling the future. Unfortunately, because of Jalana's inability to remember the majority of these dreams, she was never able to determine what these premonitions were about until after the event had occurred. Due to Jalana's difficulty in dealing with these dreams, Kayla and Jalana began to wake before dawn (an easy feat, considering both would already have been awakened by Jalana's reactions to these dreams). They would go outside in order to see the sun rise and made up a little prayer for Jalana to say: I bid farewell to the dark, and I lose my fears. I greet the dawn, so the day may be bright. Peace to all creatures under the sun. This would help her to face each new day without dwelling on the previous night.
There was a severe drought in the year Jalana turned 15. For the farming community, this was disastrous. Many people had to leave their farms and go into the towns to find work in order to survive. Torl was not unaffected, either. He was forced to fire all of his servants, including Kayla. Mother and daughter traveled to the town of ______ in search of work. But before they got there, they were attacked by bandits. The bandits left the two women alongside the road after taking everything of value, but not before something extraordinary happened. One of the men had stabbed Kayla in her side. Jalana, seeing her mother fall to the ground, rushed in front of Kayla to block the dagger with her own body. As the knife began its downward stroke, Jalana felt an intense energy buildup within her body. She raised her hands to block the dagger, and suddenly, a ball of energy flew from her hands. This startled the bandit enough so that his dagger missed its mark. Instead of striking Jalana in the chest, he opened up a large gash on her left thigh. The bandits left soon afterward. Jalana's wound wasn't too serious and eventually becomes the scar she has presently. Kayla's situation, however, was far more grim.
As she lay dying on the dirt road, Kayla made Jalana promise to seek out someone who would be able to teach her to control her powers. Kayla knew that her daughter had a rare talent, and would need to develop it if she were to survive in this world. Even though Jalana agreed to her mother's last request, she was secretly reluctant to have anything more to do with her gift. She felt that if she was this agitated over the remembered bits and pieces of her prescient dreams, she really didn’t want to know what the full dreams were like. But, in order to fulfill her mother's wish, she set out on her own personal quest, to find a teacher. Thus, her story begins.
This character is © by
Judy.