Application for Tower of Animus

[absentapothecary]

Player Information

Name: Lampy
Personal Journal: lampdevil
Age: 30
Contact Info: Plurk: lampdevil | AIM: geenacorbell
Other Characters Played: Kain Highwind [OU], Queen Zeal [OU]

Character Information

Character Name: Annika Whittenberg
Character Age: 31 (Died at the age of 17 and has not aged, but has decomposed more than a little.)
Character Gender: Female

World Description: Azeroth, setting of the Warcraft universe. In particular, Annika hails from the modern era, around Lordaeron. Her pull point is from Year 39 (Year 631 King's Calendar), the very beginning of the Cataclysm.

Character Background: Annika Chantalle Whittenberg was born to a moderately well-to-do land owning family in Brill. She had two older brothers, a younger sister, and relatives and family friends galore in the community. Her father was a gentleman farmer, more interested in Lordaeron's politics than in tilling the soil. Mother was a kind and beautiful homemaker, who ran the household with a calm and capable grace. Though Annika had her mother's looks and airy disposition, she also had a willful and curious streak. As soon as the had learned to speak, she was busy asking "why?" and "how?" about everything under the sun. As she grew older, she found the rough and tumble games that her brothers played to be foolish, but had no compunction about getting her hands dirty in the name of learning a new skill or finding out something new. She loved books. She loved tending to the animals. She loved to hear stories about other places and other people and the great things all about the world.

When she was 13, it was found that she had an aptitude for magecraft. One of her father's dinner guests was a mage of some talent, and he was impressed with Annika's inquisitive spirit. A bit of brief questioning and some simple tests later, and he was excitedly insistent that Annika begin study as an apprentice. She was delighted at the prospect. And while her mother thought it was a trifle unfeminine and strange, her father thought it was a fine idea. A mage in the family? Think of how far she could take the Whittenberg name! She began her initial studies at the nearby Castle Lordaeron, and did well. Well enough that with a good word from her sponsor and financial support from her father, she was sent to take advanced studies in Dalaran. Study and arcane matters occupied most of her days, and her contact with her family was limited to letters, but she was happy. The world was even more full of potential and wonder than before, and she was determined to immerse herself in all of it.

Granted a rare bit of time off from her studies in the year 617 King's Calendar, she returned to Brill to visit her family. However, the joy of their reunion was short-lived, and her visit was ill-timed; grain infected with the Plague of Undeath had already made its way into the town. She and everyone else succumbed to the plague, and then rose again as mindless undead under the sway of the Lich King. For around three years she shambled and moaned and was little more than a puppet controlled by a malevolent force. But when that force finally weakened and lost its grip on her, she found herself awake and mostly sensible atop a pile of twitching corpses.

Before she could start to scream or weep or panic, a fellow undead victim of the plague pulled her to her feet and did his best to explain to her what had happened. She had died, and risen, just like the others here. But something had weakened the Lich King's control over them. And she had the willpower to herself, like him and many others did, too. They were dead, but they were free, and they now had a leader in Lady Sylvanas Windrunner, the Banshee Queen. They were no mere undead. They were the Forsaken. Annika was still upset, still disturbed, but at her core she was a practical girl. The first words from her lips were "I'm a mage. Does she need mages?" And yes, Lady Sylvanas was very much in need of mages.

Annika had still been an apprentice when she died, and her skill as a mage was minor. Still, the ability to fling fireballs was valuable when mindless, hopeless undead still roamed the land. She spent a short period of time helping with simple Scourge containment, but soon received a summons to the Undercity from the Royal Apocthecary Society. An assembly of Forsaken and their sympathizers, they were conducting research on the Plague and fostering new strains of it. They were in need of the educated and those inclined towards arcane pursuits, and Annika was both of those. She was accepted into their ranks, and put right to work washing flasks and sorting tomes and cataloguing samples brought in from the field. But that soon became dull, and she began to agitate for the chance to get out into the field and do some work there. Her superiors assigned her to some tasks in nearby Silverpine, and she set to them with glee.

Out in the greater world and given a bit of independance, Annika did well for herself. She took on additional tasks in Hillsbrad, then the Arathi Highlands. Work for the Apothecary Society took up much of her time, but she was quickly getting to know the other races of the Horde. They, too, had tasks that needed completing and problems that needed solving. And fascinating suggestions for where she could go and research next. Trusting the advice of newly-made friends, she set out for the canyons of Thousand Needles, then the deserts of Tanaris. Regular letters and packages were sent back to the Undercity, although her work was becoming far less plague-focused. Animals were often far more interesting when they weren't being cut open and having their livers extracted to look for new and interesting toxins. When she proceeded on to Un'goro Crater, she became so delighted with the over-sized raptors and lush foliage that she lingered. She raised a venomhide ravasaur, named him Chakari, and learned to ride him. She caught glimpses of evidence of the work of the Titans, the beings said to have brought Azeroth into being. "Just one more month" became another month and another month... and it was a year and a half later when she blinked, uncomprehendingly, at the group of Undercity scouts that had managed to track her down. The world was turning without her. Outland was now accessible, and all field members of the Apothecary Society were to head there. Sad to leave, but excited at the prospect of seeing somewhere new, she pulled up roots and rode off upon Chakari for the Dark Portal.

Her time in Outland was not quite as productive as the Apothecary Society would have liked. The grand majority of her time was spent in Zangamarsh. For the first while she was quite dutiful and dedicated in sending back well-preserved samples. But she came across the Sporregar, befriended a few of them, and became quite wrapped up in their issues and troubles. Having gotten quite good at setting problematic things on fire, she set the Sporregar's problems aflame, and earned their trust. Her shipments back became fewer and fewer... and she dropped off the Society's map entirely. A bit over a year passed, and some Horde adventurers came tromping through and stayed for a bit. As they swapped stories, they revealed to Annika that the Scourge were moving and that both Horde and Alliance were set to invade Northrend and take the fight to the Lich King. It was a fight that she very much wanted a part of, and so she bid her fungal friends goodbye and returned to Azeroth.

Northrend was hazardous and fascinating. In her usual fashion, Annika became distracted from matters of Scourge-slaying and poison-documenting when she ran into an oppressed tribe of Murlocs. She helped them with their problems, and even planned on settling in long-term like she had before... but the Apothecary Society was having none of that. They were apparently monitoring her more closely, as every able corpse was needed to contribute to the war effort. They strongly suggested that she proceed immediately to Dragonblight and assist in far more important matters. She complied, and so she assembled plague components, confirmed some findings, double-checked some notes, and waltzed off to learn more of the dragons assembled in the center of the region. To her, it all seemed likely to be more of the same. Poison bombs, virulent toxins with no capacity to spread, and even though the testing upon the local Scourge had been promising, she thought little of it. When the Warsong Offensive called on her and all other able-bodied Horde to be present at Angrathar the Wrathgate for a grand attack, she hastened to attend. And she watched from a distant cliffside as the Lich King presented himself... and then Grand Apothecary Putress and a team of other Forsaken unleashed that well-researched plague upon the battlefield. It was terrible, reducing both Horde and Alliance soldiers into twitching, dissolving corpses. And this genuinely shocked Annika, naive as it might seem. This was not what she had intended her contributions to be used for. Not on allies. Not on those she fought alongside. Not to such a vile and useless end. Stunned and angered, she tore off her Apothecary Society armband and, disillusioned, set off into the frozen wilderness. When her energy and ambition finally ran out, she found herself high in the Storm Peaks, not far from the Taunka village of Tunka'lo. She stopped for a short period, intending only to warm herself enough that her joints would function properly... but she stayed. The Taunka were far kinder than she expected, and her skill in skinning animals and in sewing were of use to the village. This time she ignored all summons to return to work, paid no mind to adventurers passing through begging her to do this or that task. She filled her hours with sewing projects and occasional excursions to investigate relics of the Titans. That was far enough removed from poisons and plagues to still safely hold her interest.

When the Cataclysm rocked the world, she looked up from the skins she was helping to process, blinked slowly, and turned her head back down. Whatever happened, whatever it was, it wasn't for her to concern herself with. She had helped cause enough problems in this world. She didn't feel that adventuring forth would make matters any better, and she quietly feared some justified punishment if she dared show her face in the Undercity again. It was a letter from a very, very old friend that shook the snow from her shoulders and made her stand again. He was a rogue, his name was Aldreavus, and she last saw him in Dalaran when they were still young and alive. He told her of dying, and then of being resurrected into the service of Lady Sylvanas, and of the state of Brill and the Undercity. He wrote of politics. He wrote of the upheaval of the land and of change blowing in the wind. He wrote of having never stopped thinking of her, having wondered what became of her, even as he fought on for the Alliance. He prayed that his letter would find its way into her hands, and that the records he pilfered from the Apothecary Society were true, and that she was still out in the field and doing her work. It stirred something in her dead and dessicated heart. Though she had no intention of helping the Horde with any of its problems, she desperately needed to find him. Simply writing back and praying that the message would arrive wouldn't be enough. She left Northrend with enough hope in her heart to damp down the fear and shame of before.

(Annika's pull point would be from some time shortly after returning to Orgrimmar and catching up on the political and geographical shifts of the Cataclysm, before managing to find Aldreavus.)

Personality: At first glance, Annika is the very picture of the distracted and fixated researcher. Just about everything new that she comes across fascinates her, and even things that she's quite familiar with are apt to be picked apart and analyzed to death. She is very prone to neglecting the bigger picture (a larger goal, a visible hazard) in favor of whatever trivial matter has currently piqued her interest. Along the same lines, she'll cheerfully talk your ear off on the subject of her current fancy, and only the most strenuous of objections will make her stop. The world is still a fascinating place, to her, even when seen through dead and cloudy eyes. She firmly believes that others should see it that way, too, and is often saddened and frustrated when they fail to be.

There's some complexity resting beneath her surface, however. As a Forsaken, she has a considerable streak of willfulness. While she'll cheerfully go along with most suggestions or requests because few things tend to truly bother her, when she refuses, there is no convincing her to change her mind. She has refused work from those that she believes are wicked or unjust, in the past. And her experiences at the Wrathgate were enough to cause her to break completely from the Royal Apothecary Society. She may be a horrible, accursed undead creature, but she does not consider herself to be evil and tries to act accordingly. She feels incredible guilt for her role at the Wrathgate, and very much wishes to atone for it. Bringing it up will cause an abrupt shift in her mood. She doesn't like to discuss it, nor even think about it if she can help it, as it compromises her vision of herself as a 'good person'.

For as much of a pleasant and smiling front as she puts forward, she's really quite anxious about how others perceive her. The Forsaken are looked at with distrust from the other races of the Horde, and with outright hatred from the members of the Alliance. She tends to go overboard with kindness and helpfulness when she meets new allies, because she feels that she needs to prove herself as trustworthy and worthwhile to be around. Beyond even that, she knows perfectly well that she's a repugnant, rotting corpse. No reasonable person would want to be around such a thing. While she takes measures to delay her decomposition and to mask her smell with herbs and perfumes, her presence is still unnerving and unpleasant. She resents this and hates this, but tries not to show it. No one likes a complainer, and weeping won't fix anything.

Having been a field researcher for quite a few years, Annika is no stranger to combat. But while she has gotten fairly good at it, she doesn't really care for it. As good as she may be at setting things on fire, it's always a means to an end. Kill the animal to take samples of its organs. Kill the human that's occupying the land we need to take. Kill the monster threatening the settlement. She's quick to lose her head when things go awry, and finds it hard to adapt to new and unfamiliar situations in battle. She's not proud, will use desperate tactics to try and win a fight, and has fled screaming from a situation on more than one occasion.

Abilities:

Undead - As an undead created by the Plague of Undeath, Annika is not subject to some of the same frailties as a regular human. She has no need to breathe, although she still does out of long-ingrained habit. She hungers and has the desire to eat, but food passes mostly undisturbed through her barely-functioning digestive system. She can eat nearly anything and gain 'sustenance' from it, as a result. Her sense of taste and smell is blunted, her body is fragile, and she's held together by unholy force, what little muscle and sinew that remains, and sheer bloody-minded willpower. That same willpower makes her resistant to mental effects intended to terrify.

Magic - Annika is what's known as an arcane spellcaster, and can cast spells from three primary schools: Flame, Frost, and Arcane. Her core focus is on Flame, although she has some capacity in the other three. Her actual in-game spell list is somewhat huge and silly, so to boil down her abilities to their basics...

Flame - Exactly what it sounds like, this school of magic conjures flames, sets things on fire, and sometimes even makes things explode. At its most basic, it involves conjuring balls of fire to fling at one's opponents. At its most advanced... well, the balls of fire are much larger, and much faster to conjure, and the flames are harder to douse. Annika can conjure absolutely preposterous amounts of fire, either at a single target or over an area, and can cause objects that have caught on fire to flare up and burn hotter and brighter.

Frost - The counterpoint to the Flame school, Frost lets users shape and control chilling cold. Contact with Frost magic slows opponents, and prolonged exposure can even freeze them solid. Annika does not favor this school, but in a pinch can conjure a bolt of frost, briefly freeze opponents in place, and shield herself behind a wall of ice.

Arcane - This school covers the ability to conjure and shape raw, non-elemental magic. Annika uses it to conjure food and water, dispel or counter other spells, to shield herself, to teleport very short line of sight distances, and to slow her speed when falling. She does technically know how to temporarily polymorph humanoid or bestial creatures into sheep, but hasn't had to do so in a very long time. She can also teleport and open portals, but only to fixed locations anchored by far more powerful mages than herself. Such teleportation would be very unlikely to work within the tower.

Professions - Annika has picked up an assortment of useful, not-strictly-powers-like skills while on the road. She's good at fishing, can cook reasonably well, can prepare bandages and dress wounds, can sew clothing and bags, and can skin animals and turn the hides into leather. The sewing and tailoring is a bit magical, in that she can work far more quickly by hand than one would expect.

Sample Entries:

Sample 1: Thread in test drive meme
Sample 2: Prompts in same test drive meme