vicletfxre - Tumblr blog

[vicletfxre]

ANYA CHALOTRA as YENNEFER DE VENGERBERG in THE WITCHER: SEASON THREE | Episode 5: The Art of Illusion

[vicletfxre]

A letter was handed to Corvina after the announcement of the Council’s chosen members by a Husk who appeared as a baphomet, her title ‘Shadow Witch’ written in dark script across expensive cool paper.

Shadow Witch,

It was a surprise to me that you so readily made your presence known in the town of Destarin, I have been so used to your whispered title amongst the villages it was curious to discover that you had found a permanent perch. Though it would be generous to call you a threat, at least to myself, you are certainly a folk myth and to my brother, who fears magic and women, you were not who he desired to win. 

I on the other hand think we could be allies and will admit if this letter finds you I am somewhat disappointed that the kraken cultist was able to become elected in your place. Magic does not frighten me but as we have both experienced wielders of magic, such as yourself and of my great great grandmother who was blamed for the death of the Crirthan princess, it is easy for men to turn on us and cast blame.

I would like invite you to take upon another position than the one denied to you. Herald of the Feminine Divine. Rather than aligning yourself to a specific court, you would be aligned to the feminine energies of each, making sure those presenting or representing womanhood in some way have a voice within Destarin. Those across the courts are restless, I am sure you are too. This could be to your advantage.

You will have the option of attending council meetings, of course, to make sure the needs of all are being heard but you will not be required to.

Let us know of your answer.

Princess Royal Olesechka Vasiliev

The shadow witch’s initial impulse upon opening the letter and reading its contents was to pitch it into a fire. Any offer from the courts, most especially the one that had harmed her so, was tainted in the most toxic of poisons. A poison that they had no intention of ever letting touch her lips.

And yet, she lingered on it, as some days passed. Read the elegant scrawl of the Princess Royal of the kingdom they once called home. Thought on the rumors that lingered alongside her own name in the very villages mentioned. It was almost funny, in a way, the fact that the Princess Royal did not view the Lady of Shadows as a threat to herself. The princess, it seemed, did not count herself as being a member of her kingdom’s court.

There was much that Corvina could do, with access to the council, in spite of the position she applied for being denied to her. It also wasn’t as if time would be much of an issue for the immortal witch, who would hold their position long after the current rulers of the kingdoms and the nobility therein had perished. That is, if she chose to accept it.

And besides, they knew upon rising from their would be death on that forsaken beach, surrounded by the remains of her coven, that she had all the time in the world and beyond to destroy the court of Withermore. Why not truly play into the long con?

Princess Royal Olesechka Vasiliev,

It is not hard to believe that your brother fears magic and women, if what I hear in those same villages can be believed. Curious, that a witch fears that which makes him what he is. Magic is nature, and are we all not a part of nature? Some more so than others, perhaps. 

I trust an extremely slim number of things, people often being the least trustworthy for me to deal with. As a dealer of shadows, I know best that what remains therein is not permanent. A fact one would think that the courts would remember best, especially as we near the 200th anniversary of the Fourty Seasons War. History, as ever, is written by the victors, and a funny thing that the victors always seem to be men.

I am willing, however, to accept the position as Herald of the Feminine Divine. A title I think even my own god would be rather pleased with; they are not known as Erone the Dual-Faced for no reason. We cannot forget that for every Masculine, there also exists a Feminine, and She will not be easily ignored or suppressed.

And no need to worry, I shall be at every council meeting I can possibly attend.

Corvina, Lady of Shadows, Storm Summoner, shadow witch

In the twilight hours, a single raven leaves the shadow witch’s hut, sending her letter of acceptance to the Princess Royal. They wondered, idly, what kind of game the Princess Royal was playing. If the King even had the wit to look closer to home for his enemies, rather than across the continent. Perhaps next that they heard from the Princess Royal, it would instead be signed Queen. A hundred years from now, it would not matter. Corvina would still remain, a fixture as rulers and even courts lived and died around her.

[vicletfxre]

Now presenting...

Corvina's attire for the ballot counting.

[vicletfxre]

Corvina felt herself relax when Bellamy's familiar cadence chimed up. There were few faces that the shadow witch was familiar with, but their fellow seamstress had proved herself a valuable friend. "A skirt, of all things. It's a type of leather, I suppose? Tougher than all the hells combined, so I need this one seed..."

Upon finding the exact seed, she let out a triumphant laugh, snatching the vial. "And here is the seed I need." That seed being lynchwur, a flowering plant that they had seen growing along the borders between the three kingdoms in her travels, but whose origin was unknown to them. She just knew that crushing it and rubbing into the tougher materials made it as supple as silk, and that was all they needed to know of it. At Bellamy's comment, her brows furrow in confusion. "Winter is still months away. I swear, one little cold snap and everyone is ready to layer clothing and break out decorations for Erone's Day, or whatever it is that it's called here."

The eyes on Corvina were simply a precursor to the young vampire's approach. It was not uncommon to find the other seamtresses or tailors from Red Thread in similar establishments, looking for items to make their own works unique to their own styles. Still Bella did not think she saw Corvina out that often, perhaps in part because Bella herself was limited to the evening hours. Only able to enter places after the sun had set.

"What are you working on?" Bella asked, in her own hands a small jar of ground aboleth fangs and sometimes Bella mixed them in with dye when soaking fabrics as aboleths are known for exceptional memories and Bella felt that perhaps the item being infused with part of them would help those who wore what she made remember their experiences in the attire with more clarity. Perhaps it did nothing, but Bella liked to try things and always enjoyed small touches. Corvina could have potentially seen her with them in the past but Bella wasn't sure how observant the others were of her odd behaviours.

Beyond the jar she held she would inevitably pick up some dried myconid flowers, specifically ones native to the Southern seas of Withermore, where their flowers were able to insulate from the cold. "I have a few jackets, despite the heat everyone seems to be very concerned with the winter approaching."

[vicletfxre]

In the depths of my being, a tempest roars, Rage, an inferno that consumes and soars. A storm of emotions, turbulent and wild, Unleashing fury, an untamed child.

With fiery eyes and a heart ablaze, Rage courses through me, in myriad ways. It's the thunderous crackle in my voice, The searing passion, my soul's own choice.

A symphony of anger, notes piercing the air, Rage, a primal force that I dare not spare. It fuels my spirit, ignites my will, A burning energy I cannot still.

In the chaos of rage, I seek clarity, To rise above the fury, with integrity. To temper the flames, find balance within, And let rage be a catalyst, not just a din.

[vicletfxre]

💙 Do you think your connection to darkness is because you inside aren’t filled with light?

"Perhaps. It certainly feels that way. Maybe that's why Erone chose me over any other. Maybe that's why they chose to grant me immortality. I can't say for sure, and I'm certainly not about to ask. Nothing good comes from questioning gods on their whims."

[vicletfxre]

❤️ Scenario: A lover asks you to surround the pair of you in darkness in a public setting so you can be intimate together, how do you react?

"... No. Just no. I don't think I'd even respond, just walk away. Public settings are hard enough to be in as is for me, the idea of using my powers to be intimate?"

[vicletfxre]

𝘌𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘶𝘢𝘭-𝘍𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘍𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥.

Faces featured:

Jarred Blackiston, The Font Demon, The New Legends of Monkey. Emma D'arcy, Rhaenyra Targaryen, House of the Dragon. Anya Chalotra, Yennefer of Vengerberg, The Witcher.

[vicletfxre]

💛 Is there anyone you would like to become friends with?

"Now that, I'm not sure. I'd like to say that I'm friends with Bellamy, after all, we work together. And I've had a couple clients ask to get to know me after I finished their commissions, but I doubt that friendship was their goal. Maybe a couple witch friends? Though I'd probably avoid the more powerful covens, they get a little too internally scheme-y for my tastes."

[vicletfxre]

🩷 What would be your ideal partner?

"Someone who views me as important to them as they are to me. Someone who sees the cruel, dark, twisted parts of me and chooses me anyway. Someone who will hold my bloody hand because it matches their own. Someone to silence the voices in my head that fill me with shame and guilt. Someone that can bring out that vulnerable, soft, loving girl that I once was."

[vicletfxre]

💙 Are you ashamed you survived and did not do more to save others in your coven?

"Every day. Logically, I know that I did what I was capable of to try and save them. But that doesn't stop the what if's. That doesn't stop the wondering. That doesn't stop the days that I wished that Erone had just let me die."

[vicletfxre]

❤️ What is a recurring sexual fantasy you are having lately?

"I haven't thought of sex in years - don't ask how many because I do not care to count. Besides, these days I don't have the time, energy, or want to indulge in such a luxury. There's plenty of other people having sex in Destarin so I don't need to be."

[vicletfxre]

🩷 Has anyone ever confessed romantic feelings for you that you did not reciprocate?

"Quite a few, actually, before the war. Though the sweetest confession was this little boy, no older than five. Poor thing was so upset when I turned him down. I sometimes wonder what became of him."

[vicletfxre]

💚 Were all the witches in your coven shadow witches?

"No, they weren't. My coven was dedicated to taking in the lonely and cast off, witches that didn't have a coven of their own or were exiled from their coven. We even had a storm witch, he was the one to teach me about summoning storms. His role of protecting the coven with those storms when we were on the move passed on to me when he died."

[vicletfxre]

Starter Type: open Location: a shop within the Trade District

Corvina typically tried to avoid lingering in town when she didn't need to work, preferring to get anything they needed from the forest surrounding her home or from the Laras, Asharran, or Rocheilles districts. But on this occasion, there was a shop in the Trade district that did have something that they needed. A type of seed that when crushed would make the material she was working with more supple.

As she looked through the various tinctures, they felt a pair of eyes on them. The shadow witch was accustomed to eyes on her, having heard a tale or two of their exploits through the decades told in dark corners whilst none were the wiser to her presence. But they elected to ignore it, figuring it was some other customer or the owner themselves. She knew better than to speak when not spoken to.

[vicletfxre]

Some semblance of peace, that was what Corvina wanted most. A place to think about her next moves, since the courts had come to breathe down everyone's necks. They had sought to avoid the emissaries from Withermore, unable to let her age-old grudge harm what could be the key to finding what remained of their coven. So consumed was she in their planning, she had barely noted the young man that made himself at home at their table.

It was only the pause between his ramblings that the shadow witch actually looked at him, violet eyes raking the male's form. "Peace and quiet." Was her succinct answer. "Why did you so rudely make yourself at home at my table?"

"--so there I was, about sixty seconds away from getting my ass kicked, an ogre was not too keen on me being in this bar, but all I wanted was a quick drink and a bite to eat while I was on the road. And I even tried to explain that, as so politely as I always obviously am, because it was the middle of nowhere, and it's not like they had a sign anywhere that told me I wasn't allowed. Only to be saved by a guy with wings, who flew in from a hole in the ceiling. Called himself some sort of peacemaker. Anyway, long story short, I think they still ended up spitting in my food or even worse, because I was not feeling well for days after that."

Alex cleared his throat then, swallowing down the snack he had gotten, eating at a high table near the window. On his break from work, he couldn't help but chatter - that's what he was oftentimes best known for. Some bread and porridge, a mug of frosty ale (a little on the reddish side, but that was well hidden enough), and a view to people watch the bustle of the street outside. And, now this esteemed company. "But anyway, why'd you sit here again?"

[vicletfxre]

𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐀 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐖 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐂𝐇 𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒

twenty-eight in appearance, the witch corvina is approximately 482 years in age. she was raised by a coven of witches deep in the forests of Withermore, unaware of the passage of time for a majority of their life. the forty seasons war left her coven uprooted and scattered to the winds, and corvina hopes that destarin holds the key to reuniting them all. they are a demi-woman and go by she/they pronouns.

TW: Death, Murder, War, Military.

Corvina was born many years ago to a half-nymph mother and witch father. Growing up within their coven of witches in the forests of Withermore, the fledgling witch knew little of the outside world; and this was primarily by design. The coven was begun by a disgraced noblewoman exiled from the Withermore courts, one that contended with dark shadow entities.

It was on Corvina's fourth birthday that she first began to manipulate the shadows. This was considered a gift from the coven's chief deity, Erone, whose domain lay with shadows, crossroads, and storms. From that moment on, the young girl was trained rigorously to harness and manipulate this power. And as she grew, so too did her abilities, being able to summon storms should the coven need to move from one location to the next.

And this was the life they knew, until the Forty Seasons War. The court of Withermore, desperate for soldiers to bolster its army, scoured the forests. The battle upon a contingent of soldiers discovering the coven was bloody, and frightening. Upon seeing their parents being cut down without a care for daring to fight for their right to live, Corvina summoned the shadows, and loosed them upon the soldiers. It was said that it robbed them of their senses, swinging their swords wildly only to cut each other down. At least, that is what the survivors that escaped would say, left permanently blind and feeble.

Corvina themselves fell to the ground after such a feat, allegedly on death's door. But Erone, it seemed, looked once more upon the child they had blessed so long ago, and decided that death could not have this one. The witch was carried away from death's door, blessed now with immortality, and rage.

In the years following, Corvina made it her mission to destroy the courts of Withermore the way they had destroyed her coven and its way of life. Their travels eventually took them outside of Withermore, and earned them such names as Lady of Shadows and Storm Summoner; though the most widespread was simply "the shadow witch," a name whispered in hushed tones in dark corners. But in all that time, she hoped and prayed for some sign of their coven, that they all might be reunited and could return to their simple way of life.

WHAT ARE YOU...?

species: shadow witch. weaknesses: powers weak in direct sunlight, powers related to flame, weapons made with light can cause injury, magical protections can inhibit her abilities. strengths: shadow manipulation (can cut off sight and sound), the ability to summon storms of varying severity, enhanced speed/strength/stamina, immortality, powers heightened under a new moon or in complete darkness. physical description: corvina has wavy black hair that she typically wears loose, purple eyes as a result of being blessed with immortality, the sclera of their eyes turn black when they utilize their shadow abilities. additional info: corvina's coven didn't go by any standard name, and avoided all but the smallest of villages should they be in need of something..

corvina is played by greenie and their fc is anya chalotra.