Piper - Priestess of Gale
(Picture made from this generator)
Name: Piper Windblown
Race: human
Home Country/Region: Gauss
Birthdate: February 8th, 676
(19 in "In the Cards")
Astrological Sign: Aquarius
Tarot Card: Knight of Swords
Height: 5'6"
Appearance: shortish dark hair styled bird-like with feathers tucked into it,
brown eyes, deep complexion
Occupation: Priestess
Alignment: Neutral Good
Highest Stat: Intelligence
Weakest Stat: Wisdom
Favorite Hobby/Skills: flying, playing the recorder
Favorite Color: bright blue
Detailed info:
Hailing from Gauss, a city far far to the north, is Piper the flighty priestess of Gale. Gale is the god of wind and the patron of sailors and fisherfolk, which explains the "Windblown" part of her name. This is not actually a surname, which she discarded upon entering the priesthood, but her rank. Eventually she'll move up to Windwalker and possibly even Windborne. That's her dream, anyway!
Until she traveled north to enter the priesthood, she lived the first decade or so of her life aboard her family's very cramped fishing boat, never being ashore long enough to quite develop land legs. Other than the brief stops at various seaports, Piper spent her entire childhood on either her parents' ship or one belonging to one of her kin; all of her immediate family owned and operated a small fleet of such boats. It was because of this constant life at sea that Piper became interested in Gale and His followers. One night there was a terrible squall and some of the ships were unable to reach port in time. This would have proved disastrous for Piper's family, but the god must have heard their prayers because at that port were two clerics of Gale. Piper watched in awe as they directed the storm away long enough for her uncle and cousin's boats to dock safely. It was then and there that the young girl vowed that when she was older, she was going to become just like them and be able to control the weather, too.
Never being one to have much patience, when she was twelve she decided that she had waited long enough. Her parents were justifiably worried about the decision that would take her away from them, but they heartily approved of the path she had chosen. Piper made her determined way to the nearest temple of Gale to begin her training where she remained for a short time. When the priestess who had been her particular mentor was given a new assignment, she took Piper with her, so the girl's remaining time as an apprentice priestess was spent far to the north.
Piper adapted well to the change in location and surprisingly well to the shift in climate. A few years later she was ordained fully into the priesthood and it was at this time that she was granted an ability that was even better than the weather-working she had been learning: the power to shapechange into a bird. Not all priests and priestesses of Gale have this ability, particularly not when they are as young as Piper, but perhaps her natural inclination to be rather bird-like had something to do with being able to channel this magic a little sooner than normal. This newfound skill was not all fun and games for the young priestess, however, as her lack of focus made for unreliable control. More than once she got stuck in the form of a tiny seabird and when this happened when she was far from her home temple... well, if it had not been for a few new friends taking risks to help her, it's possible that she would have lost the grip on her human side and been unable to ever shift back to her true form.
That lack of focus is one of the shortcomings of Piper's personality. While she is very cheerful, outgoing, and intelligent in so far as dealing with facts and ideas, she also has a tendency to be flighty and possesses an exceedingly short attention span. This could be a result of spending so much of her time as a bird flittering from place to place, but if you could get her to stay on topic for more than a few minutes, she might be willing to admit that she has always been that way. Pulling Piper's head out of the clouds in order to get her to focus on the here and now is bound to be a necessary task for any who consider her a friend and it's generally the grounded and patient Tavin who finds himself in that position.
CONVERSATION