Difference between revisions of "Nori Ankou"

Revision as of 02:38, 7 November 2016

Profile

Nori Ankou is a simple Ohtori from a wealthy family in Sapporo... on the surface, anyway, the same surface that shows a girl who's shed some of the classical ojou mannerisms in favor of dark hair, dark eyes and dark clothing. And adding to that darkness is her secret role as La Sirene du Nord, aspirant to the queendom of the Sea of Tears, a mystical realm of sorrow and dark beauty! (Even her magic lantern, the Brazen Pharos, seems to radiate darkness, not light.) Nori is a surprisingly vulnerable and caring young woman underneath the gothick demeanor, and la Sirene du Nord has changed too, from an ominous figure to a spectral protector of this flawed, wounded and beautiful world.

Current Status

Current Status Body Here

History

Nori Ankou was a child with problems. No, they were not problems of misbehavior or foolishness; she was insightful and intelligent, an early reader and a thoughtful person. Her problem was much simpler: She had regular and frequent storms of a crippling, intractable depression. Even in an ideal situation this might have been less than positive. As it was, she was largely subject to displeasure from her parents, who had hoped for something more outgoing in a daughter... someone who could live up to the family's habits of being outgoing, go-getters, even a little ruthless at times. This disapproval didn't come with beatings, it just was an atmosphere of cold isolation.

Nori learned to fake it. It was an amazing power. Her parents, evidently relieved at the sudden brashness and outgoing nature of their child, didn't question too much that she still spent lots of time alone, by herself. ("I need to think!" "I'm tired of seeing other people!" "Other people are dumb, gosh!!") After all, at school, when she wasn't having a fit, she was fine. It was a relief to those parents, especially when they had a second child on their way - a son, too! Nori did not really like faking it, but it did, initially at least, seem to work. She did feel better... somewhat better... sometimes... However, after years of doing this, she began to despise herself for her false face, while not being able to put it down for long. When her parents informed her that, in light of both her academic irregularity and her penchant for periodically kicking her peers in their pouty pastry-holes, she would be going to a boarding school for her middle school years, she broke down in tears.

That, too, wasn't unusual. They let her run off to the dockside boathouse near the ocean on their seaside estate where she hid. They did not expect that this time, she would take a rowboat - and begin travelling out, as far as she could, tears in her eyes. A storm rose. The boat hit a far shore. As rain pelted down on her, she looked up at a gray eminence: someone who had come and waited, holding a lantern. The woman kissed her brow, bore her up the craggy path to a sheltered lighthouse, and fed her a meal of fish. She introduced herself as the Mother of Sorrows, and told Nori that she was in a home that had been prepared for her long ago. She could stay - forever, if she wished - and would learn many mysteries, and things she had not known she missed. She was a child of the Mother, at whatever remove, and she was not the first to come, nor would she be the last.

Nori ate her supper, and then said, But I have to go back; I'm to attend school soon.

Do you mean that? the Mother asked her. You do not have to.

Nori was silent for a long time. The Mother waited; she poured tea, served a small cake for dessert. Nori answered, finally: I don't know.

The Mother smiled, and congratulated her for her honesty. Come back tomorrow, she said: Take the same boat. Come after breakfast, and stay the day.

Nori left; came back the next day; and here the two of them spoke at length. Nori's ears burned to hear the strange woman praise her for her strength and the force of her will. But I'm awful, Nori said. I decided to lie to everyone so that Mother and Father would not be sad. What's strong about that?

Because, the Mother said, you did not lie. You performed, and you have kept the knowledge of yourself. Such strong will is worthy of a Queen. Return to me on this day, next year, and we will speak again.

Nori went to Ohtori then, and forgot about that entire conversation. She nearly forgot - if she hadn't looked in her old journal, she would have thought it was a dream. But on that day, a clear and blue day, she snuck away from her parents as they cossetted her infant brother, and sailed out of sight of land. Had it been a dream? She thought so, but when she turned around, she found the Mother sitting there. The Mother told her something of the history of the Sea of Tears, and how in time the sorrows of the world came there; how her children had filled the Earth, mingling with the races of mortal man, but how in time they would feel weighed upon by the passage of time. Those who could return to the Sea found themselves growing into strange and wonderful new powers and potencies... but most, in the end, did not. The Mother taught Nori a charm then, and told her to use it, not from here, but at Ohtori, in thirteen months, no more and more less. That charm was to sail away from land, however accomplished, steering without sight and with tears in her eyes.

But... Nori thought Ohtori was great fun. Her feelings were lighter, though she still had dark and gloomy spells. She remembered what day it was when the news spoke of storms at sea and storms on land. She slipped off the school grounds, desperately taking a paddleboat; steering it away, trying to make headway against the surging waves. Futility and black depression lay upon her - and then she awoke in that familiar lighthouse, tucked into a warm if spartan bed. The Mother was there, and she was told then of her real purpose.

She could stay if she wished, as many others had, but she held the strength and the will to pursue the course needed. Become a Siren, the Mother said; gather the sorrows of the world and bring them here. In time, you will grow, and should you grow enough, you shall be Queen, as she who rules now under my watch grows old and weary of the task.

Nori accepted.

She was then told, of course, that she was not alone, but...

Relationships

+2 FRIENDLY POINTS

Big approval!

+1 FRIENDLY POINTS

Minor approval!

0 FRIENDLY POINTS

Neutral disapproval!

-1 FRIENDLY POINTS

Minor disapproval!

-2 FRIENDLY POINTS

Big disapproval!

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