River

Race:
Elf/Wolf Shapeshifter
Ice Sorceress

Age:
About 21 human years

Occupation:
None

Skills:
Advanced archery, Basic close combat

Abilities:
Ice creation, Basic to moderate ice manipulation (forming basic shapes or objects with little to moderate detail. Daggers, swords, spikes, small statues, etc.), Transform into silver/blue furred wolf, Slowed aging, Tongue for animals (mammals), basic telepathy (close range)

Likes:
Exploring and trekking, playing with water and ice, singing, being with animals.

Dislikes:
Pricks, pushovers, egotistical men, sport hunters, bull-headedness, womanizers, moderate to extreme fire (anything more then a small cookfire or candle).
(maybe men in general?)

History:
She was born into a small village at the foot but in the heart of a large mountain range named Eragoth. This village of elves were secluded from the rest of the world, and they preferred it that way. Some of their practices were a bit different from the rest, and they had no problem with keeping the little village of Yumara a secret. Near the village was a forest of decent size that grew up into the mountains; here is where she used to play as a little child, and where she met her first friend. Yes, her first and best friend was met in those woods, and of course, was not human in nature. Silverfang was her name; and she was a pure white wolf. Day after day River would go out just to meet with Silverfang, and they would spend hours together.

Then came the day the girl turned ten. She was off playing with Silverfang, like normal, when there came a loud explosion from behind her, and when she turned, all she could see over the treetops was the billowing of dark clouds, the tips of reaching fire, and then the smell of burning. It was Silverfang that kept her back from her home; that kept the little girl from running into that fire, and probably saved her life, though at the time she didn't feel as such. When they could no longer feel the heat of the flames, and the stench had lessened, Silverfang led a heartbroken River into the decimated village of Yumara.

They spent some time then, examing the ruins of the decimated city. Having never been there before, the wolf knew little about the vilage, for River prefered not to talk about it when she was off playing with her canine friend, but as she followed the girl, she picked up on mutterings, and slowly leanred the layout of the town as the girl remembered them from just hours before. The solem silence lay like a thick cloud over them, and all was still until River came across the ruins of her own house. The bodies of the dead had been strewn across the grounds, blacken'd by fire and smoke. Somehow the girl had managed to block out those sights, to make them less severe, but when it came to her own home, her own mother, her own father, she couldn't help but scream.

Taking the liberty, after the shock of her sudden scream, Silverfang walked into the house and piced up the first small remnant she found; it was the corner piece of what looked to be an old blanket. Then again, with this much damage, it might have been brand new. Snatching it up, she walked from the ruins of the girls house to find her now crying on the ground, her scream reduced to a wailing noise. Nudging her gently, she managed to get little River to her feet and walking away from the village. There was nothing left for her here; no reason to stay. Silverfang knew that all too well.

From there, they became the girl and the wolf. A wild animal with a tame one, who herself soon became wild. The classic story of the wolf raising a child. How the tame one came into the wild, and soon became wild herself. However, there are no tales of raiding villages, or the death of things, for Yumara had been just about the only village in Eragoth. The girl and her wolf lived in the mountains, and it provided all they needed. They continued to cultivate their own language based on the wolf-speak, and it came to that they understood eachother.

When the girl had aged more, and the wolf felt that her time would start to run out faster, the wolf decided that there was one thing in the mountain range that River had to see before the chance was gone. Trekking up to the highest peaks, into the cold, chilly air, Silverfang had the want to show River the single ice cave that lay in Eragoth; the very fabeled cave that the range was named after.

When they got there, the girl marvled at how that this single cave was made entirely of ice, and it never melted or shifted; it was just like the ones made of stone around it, but semi-transparent, and an odd hue of blue. As they entered the cave, River could feel something odd, but made no mention of it, for Silverfang had spoken that this cave had strange properties, and quirks to it. At first, River shivered at the cold that the cave gave off as they walked through it, but slowly, she stopped shivering, and the cold became normal to her. Her eyes adjusted to the brightness, and it became homey to her.

The brightness seemed to grow, and soon they saw the outline of what was the end of the cave. They were almost to the end of the cave; more sunlight was pouring in and the heat of the day was beginning to prick at their skins, when a loud bellowing cry was heard. They froze on the spot, and Silverfang instantly became tense and started growling. River grabbed at a stone dagger from her belt, and at that moment, a large bi-pedal furred creature fell infront of them, and bellowed at them a challenge. From there a battle ensued, and as predicted, the girl and the wolf managed to win. As the beast lay dead at their feet, a small cloud of what seemed to be smoke rose from the creatures body, and then melded with the cave. Silverfang let out a small laugh, and then collapsed. Her time was up. The cave was calling her. Her essence came out the same way, but it froze momentiarly, and then split. Half of her the cave took, and the other half, blessed with ice, forced it's way into River's body.

She woke up later, to find the body of the attacking creature gone, and Silverfang dead. Mourning didn't last long, for the urge to get over it quicker was about, and then she drug off Silverfangs body to a large hole in a tree, and placed her in there. Crying a few more tears, she looked up at the hole, and found it covered over with a layer of clear ice. The wolf would forever be preserved.

From there, River took off on her own journey, and fends for herself, stopping in places here or there when she feels the need, but mostly keeping to the outdoors, and keeping to the trees, the only thing she has left of her once home.



(Ugh. She's not BLUE blue, but her white/silver fur has blue tints to it. My photo editing skills were not working.)