Merai hin'Dana

Name: Merai hin'Dana of Clan Anboren
Race: Cursed Human (cat)
Born: Late Summer, 692 CR
Hair: Brown (with tawny fur)
Eyes: Mahogany Brown
Height: 5'3" in January 707, 5'6" in May 708
Creator: Raven Blackmane

Position within Keep: Priestess, Lightbringer Order


Merai hin'Dana (mə-RĪ hín-DĀ-nə) was the first new cleric to be admitted into the Metamor Chapter of the Lothanasi since the Battle of the Three Gates. She performs many of the regular sacrifices, healings, blessings and rituals conducted by the Order, and generally helps to keep things running smoothly at the temple. She is Raven hin'Elric's confidante, junior partner, and right-hand aide.

A number of very strange things have happened in Merai's vicinity since she was first accepted as an initiate of the Lightbringer Order. Gods and daedra alike seem to be taking an inordinate interest in her, though she does not yet understand why. The truth is that Merai is the subject of a prophecy given 450 years before her birth, and a great deal more strange and amazing things will happen around her before all is said and done.

Abilities

Merai's powers can be summed up as "great ability coupled with great inexperience". She is practically overflowing with divine energies, but she doesn't have the understanding or practice yet to use this energy to its full potential. (This is actually just as well, because she doesn't have the emotional maturity to handle such power wisely if she did know how to use it.) Her personal energy store is much greater than Raven's — perhaps greater than any mortal mage's — but it would require extreme levels of discipline to learn to access this raw talent.

As of January 707, Merai could conceivably perform any of the rituals or summoning rites that Raven performs, though because she is less experienced there is a greater danger of her making a mistake. She is slowly learning the defensive and healing spells that Raven herself learned from her parents.

The obvious question is, of course: "What's the use in someone having so much power and being unable to access it?" The answer will be revealed in future stories.

Personality

Merai has often suffered from feelings of inadequacy and inferiority, but she is learning to lay such self-destructive practices aside and have a bit more confidence in herself. If things proceed as they often do with teenagers, she will likely find herself making the opposite error soon — becoming overconfident in her abilities and biting off more than she can chew. Still, on the whole, she is becoming more well-rounded and stable in her personality.

The effects of Merai's new form on her personality have yet to be seen.

Family, Friends & Allies

Merai's parents are Dana and Alexandra, formerly Alexander and Dana; both are gendermorphs and scouts in Lord Thomas's army. They fought side by side at the Battle of the Three Gates, and thus were transformed by the same spell. Dana is a towering, Adonis-like figure, and Sandra is a ravishing but exquisitely fit and well-trained field scout. Merai was born to Dana a number of years before the Battle, and she has a baby brother (Thomas, born January 23, 706) who was born to Sandra.

Unbeknownst to Merai, there is a secret related to her past that ties in to the ancient prophecy, which even her parents may not be aware of. She will uncover this secret in a later story.

Merai's best friends are Raven; her childhood confidante, Daria; the new Lightbringer initiate, Tessa; and Brother Calvis, a young acolyte from Bozojo to whom she is attracted romantically. She has a strange sort of connection to Rickkter, who seems to feel a kinship with the young priestess and has often appeared to be more than a little protective of her.

Physical Notes

Merai is a rather plain-looking but quite human cat-morph, species unknown. She has unmarked tawny fur all over her body, lighter on her chest and stomach than on her back. Her ears are long and pointed now, and seem to sit slightly higher on her head than before (though this is likely an illusion, due to the physical complications involved in having ears atop one's head). Her nose is higher and straighter than a normal human's, and it ends in a light brown leathery tip; further, her nostrils have flaps to the sides, like a lioness's. She has retained her long brown hair from before the change, and her eyes are still the same mahogany shade they were when she was "normal", though her pupils now close vertically. She has short claws on her fingers and toes, and her palms and soles are covered by thin leathery pads. Her long tail is very much like a domestic shorthaired cat's in appearance. Merai is slender in build, fairly short (5'3" in January 707, though she's not through growing yet), and still suffering from the moderate clumsiness that is a normal part of adolescence.

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