Chryse

**Chryse Petrichor - Water Genasi Druid**

Aliases: The Octopus' Gardner, Wetfoot

## Appearance

Chryse slinks in at 5'2", wearing deep blue and black sea serpent scale armor that protects her right side with thick tough scales. The rest is more leathery and holds tight to Chryse's body. They never seem to stop moving. Just a bit twitchy. Her features shift slightly with her expression, like her very flesh is just a little bit fluid, they always look a thought they've just emerged from a bath. The faint smell of oncoming rain precedes her on land. Chryse's touch is damp and their bare feet leave behind a watery trail of footprints on land. Anyone spending much time with them would see them shift between more masculine and feminine expressions. He pulls a driftwood shield up to his shoulder. Armed only otherwise with a coral wrapped garden hoe.

Bein' that fluid being, Chryse answers to he/they/she interchangeably.

## But who is they?

She's the grandchild of a water elemental and she's spent the last five years imprisoned by a fancy over-cultured Kraken in the deeps of the Split Ways Sea. But in a lucky break... she escaped! And now how much further away can you get from the bottom of the sea, than to go up into the clouds. So she's here to join Tempest.

She's pretty freshly escaped, and has some things to deal with. But who doesn't have bullshit in their lives? If she can get herself back on her feet, maybe she can figure out where she's going next in life. But right now she's just sorta, free to go where the tides take her.

## Split Ways Seas

### **Obitus**

Chryse was born in Obitus, the darker and more sinister seeming of the two Seas. Their grandfather was a water elemental, and fortunately the story of exactly how that happened was never passed down. They are the first Obitian to join the Tempest Guild, and have vouched on behalf of the guild to Senator Cray in the Darkened Abyss and the rest of his council.

### **Magna**

Even knowing that in Magna the presence of an Obitian would be risky, Chryse is one of the more 'normal' seeming Obitians and passes most of the time for being from Magna. At least visually. She doesn't really know much about Magna and any questioning would readily reveal her origin.

Despite that, she has met with the Aquocian King and the Royal Family, without disclosing their Obitian allegiances. After the king loudly and proudly announced that even a single Obitian on that Aquocian side of the split would be seen as an act of war, Chryse became even less comfortable in that side of the ocean. As though the way the water itself made her sick wasn't enough.

## Observed Traits

When it rains on Zephyr, they seem to spend as much time outside in it as they can, virtually refusing to go indoors as long as the rain persists.

They leave a trail of wet footprints wherever they go. It goes unnoticed in the outdoors most of the time, but in the guild halls it seems more obvious.

## Underwater Ready Equipment

Many things that work just fine above the waves don't do so well under them. Because Chryse in aquatic, they need gear that is appropriate. This details the various work arounds or different materials that Chryse uses in their equipment in order to keep it safe from the water.

### **Sea Serpent Half Plate Armor**

Commissioned in the Darkened Abyss, this suit of half plate is reinforced with thick iridescent scales from the backside of a sea serpent rather than metal. The body consists of thick irregularly shaped pieces of hardened leather from the 'softer' underbelly of a sea serpent. They are connected with kelp that has been woven throughout the armor to hold it together. It might even, still be alive. For this reason Chryse keeps the armor in Obitian water when not in use, and although they might not need to, they make sure to fully submerge it and let it soak at least every day if they are traveling.

### **Spellshell**

Paper doesn't do so well underwater, and ink as a writing material simply makes no sense when you are floating in liquid already. So subaquatic wizards maintain the formulas of their spells in different ways. For Chryse, she uses what looks a lot like a sturdy conch shell. But it is from a different kind of deep sea mollusk and the spirals are a little bit different, allowing for her to carve her spells into the inside surface. She has one shell she keeps safely packed away. But a second one hangs at her left side containing the ritual spells they use when adventuring.

### **Abalone 'Scrolls'**

Instead of scribing a spell onto parchment to make a scroll, Chryse achieves the same mechanical benefit of

having a scroll carving and polishing abalone shells. They work in the exact same way that a scroll would, crumbling to iridescent dust when they are used. It can be difficult for someone not familiar with the practice to sort through them as they all look mostly alike. But Chryse can tell which one is which by touch, indicating what it is through carvings on the back.

## Flibley the Familiar

Flibley is a flying blue and black streak of molluscan weirdness. They are a nudibranch of unusually large size, and aptitude for the air. Using little films of water between their 'fingers' as wings so they can glide and swoop through the air.

*Mechanically Flibley is a reflavored owl. Note, that this means it cannot breathe underwater without magical help. But fortunately, Chryse always has Water Breathing prepared and can ritual cast it if needed.*

## Cultural Misunderstandings

Chryse has lived the majority of their life underwater in a society of people who are misfits and monsters. They have different ways of seeings things than people on land. Many things are new to them, because it just wouldn't work that way where they are from.

### Birthdays

In Obitus, in the deepest reaches, they have a birthday tradition. It is called The Hunt. Your goal is to make it through the night without being captured. Those who are closest to you, turn against you. They are your hunters. They seek to take you alive, but not unharmed. To surface dwellers this might seem barbaric, but in Obitus it is a deep expression of friendship. It is to remind you of how many people seek you out. These are the people for whom you matter, some may be enemies, some may be allies. But you are important to all of them and so these are your friends. And try as you might... the will of those who care about you will overcome your best attempts to remain free. A kou-toan elder put it to Chryse best.

> *"We all think we can do it on our own... but there is nothing more humbling than trying your best to escape, and knowing those who hold you dear can stop you, if it must be done. And to remember that they are at your side, try as you might you are not alone. We are all one, even when we fight against ourselves."* ~Shloobley the Incensed
>
>

To outsiders, the hunt seems barbaric and terrifying. And it is. But for an Obitian it is a great honor to be captured. An embarrassment to escape. If you do not have enough friends in a place to capture you... you know that you might not belong there. You don't matter to enough people, friend or foe, to warrant their attention. To escape The Hunt, is a polite invitation to exile.

## Out of Character Info

Chryse is a Coastal Land Druid 9 / Illusion Wizard 2

They are played by Whembly