Creature Asilia [READY]

[Slazer]

Roleplay Type: World of Equestria

Name: Asilia

Sex: Female

Age: Adult

Species: Diamond Dog

Eye Colour: pale green sclera with a black iris.

Coat: Asilia coat is black, groomed short and smooth all across her body. She typically wears a pocketed white vest with emerald green trims and a thin white collar with a gold leash-ring studded with emeralds, nicely contrasting with her dark coat. She also wears a series of tight golden rings around her right fore-arm, a mark of her time spent in Unyasi.

Mane/Tail: Asilia's tail is about six inches long and fairly thin, groomed as smoothly as the rest of her coat. Her ears are about four inches long, jutting up from her head to a point, almost like elongated arrowheads. Her ears are pierced with golden rings, right around the halfway mark on each.

Physique: Asilia's physique is lean but strong, the body of a creature who trained herself well but with an emphasis on endurance and speed than strength. She stands just above the height of the average stallion, with a toned musculature and good body proportion, unlike many of her kind. Her form is thin and aerodynamic, and seems geared towards sprinting on all fours, as her fore-arms are only slightly larger than her hind-legs. Her head is proportionate to the rest of her body, with a slightly elongated snout ending in a gray nose and gentle curves along her face.

Residence: N/A; owns a small property in Ponyville

Occupation: Storyteller / Alchemist

Cutie Mark: N/A

History: Asilia was born Cocoa in a Diamond Dog settlement in the far north, on the border of both the Frozen North and the sea. She was a middle pup who was neither exceptionally strong nor oddly weak, and spent much of her early life working in the pack. She was only ever an average worker, unable to distinguish herself but neither falling onto the Alpha's bad side; she was only ever... there, and it bothered her that she couldn't be of more help no matter how she did. She rotated duties often, trying to find a part of the pack that she could be of more use in, but in every role- from mining to fishing- she felt unfulfilled, like there was some point to herself that she was missing.

Her only solace was in the oral history of the settlement; their storyteller, a well traveled and elderly Diamond Dog, frequently shared tales and histories from both Equestria and lands beyond with the pack, and Cocoa eagerly soaked up every song and every legend she heard from him with gusto. These stories, tall tales, and legends helped spur her imagination on what may lay beyond the little area her pack mined and settled, sparking an adventurous spirit within.

Cocoa only remained with the pack until she was a late teen, when she decided to strike out on her own in the hopes of finding her niche in the world. She eventually found herself in Baltimare, on the other side of Equestria, where she stopped for a few months to earn some Equestrian bits and decide what to do. Curious about the tales she had heard in her pack, she decided to trace one and see where it led her. The tale she chose was a legend about a mystical forest on the other side of the world where magic grew from the land itself and the inhabitants lived among the trees, one she was almost certain had to be fabricated. Yet, in her studies, Cocoa discovered that it was in fact a real location: Mti Nguvu, the heart of Unyasi.

The idea that one of those places, spoken so fondly of in the tales of her pack, actually existed excited young Cocoa, and she made the decision to make a pilgrimage to that wondrous place. Using the bits she earned doing odd jobs around Baltimare, she traveled by ship to Unyasi and made her way across the unfamiliar land. Her skills came in handy in surviving the natural and untamed land of Unyasi, allowing her to forage and protect herself from the wilds, and with help from the local Zebras she found herself entering the mystic tree city within the massive rainforest the natives called the Brakenweld.

Though the initial reaction of the inhabitants to a Diamond Dog in Mti Nguvu was lukewarm, Cocoa endeared herself to some of them by pulling her own weight, sharing some of the tales she had learned from her pack in her early years, and exhibiting a desire to better herself. Over the course of several years, she assisted the inhabitants and absorbed any knowledge she could- even becoming an apprentice to a Zebra potion-master, from whom Cocoa learned the art of alchemy. She accompanied her several times to the forest floor to gather ingredients and herbs, sharpening her mind and her eye for detail as she searched the lush forest floor with her master. In such an exotic place with so many unknown wonders, Cocoa felt satisfaction at the work she did and the zebra she helped, growing strong in body and mind from the labors she performed. By her fifth year Cocoa was a welcome face in Mti Nguva and considered a native in all but body, reflected by the name she was given by her alchemy master: Asilia.

As time passed, Asilia began to miss Equestria and seeing other Diamond Dogs. She had discovered so many new things in her time in Unyasi, and become a far better Diamond Dog for it- but she felt it was time she came home. The journey back to Equestria was far more memorable with the knowledge that she would be welcome back at Mti Nguva if she ever wished to return, though with the great number of stories that Asilia had learned in her time there, she felt that now she was ready to take up the mantle of storyteller, as the one who inspired her to travel to Unyasi in the first place had- but not just for Diamond Dogs.

Asilia had learned so many new tales, legends, and histories in those five years that she felt it would be criminal not to share them with everyone she could in Equestria. Thus, she became a traveling storyteller, using her knowledge of herblore and alchemy to bring her stories to life for anyone who wanted to learn, or even be entertained. She found a certain joy in watching adults as much in awe of her tales and magic as the foals and pups, and that happiness affirmed for her that she had discovered what she was meant to be doing with her life.

Character Summary: Asilia is a kind soul, if a little energetic. While growing up in the pack, only work and stories could keep little Cocoa in one place for any length of time; otherwise, she was off playing with other pups or getting into all sorts of trouble in the pursuit of fun. This adventurous nature remained with her throughout her childhood, and is arguably the reason she left her pack behind to travel- first to Unyasi, then across Equestria. Even now, wearing the trappings of a storyteller, she's fond of adventure and good company in her travels, and doesn't enjoy silence very much, unless she's in the midst of a story.

Asilia loves being a storyteller, and she's actually quite good at it. Never a shy pup, she can handle a crowd easily enough, and though her voice still has the slight nasally undertone that is indicative of Diamond Dogs in casual speech, she can (with some effort) force it out of her voice when performing. She handles her shows with style and flare, punctuating her words with tosses of illusion powder or potions born from the lessons her old Zebra potion-master taught to her. Neither singing nor rhyming comes easily to her, however, and she tries to avoid both in her verses. She tells tales from the history and legends of both Unyasi and Equestria, having spent plenty of time learning both, and desires to learn a few from Aquellia, as well.

Outside of her 'work', Asilia is a loveable mutt with an open heart and mind. She's slow to anger, and loves to socialize about anything and everything ponies want to approach her with. She's respectful and has a decent grasp of when not to say certain things, though getting on her bad side- difficult it may be- leans her towards selective hearing, and has a good sense of humor. She enjoys hearing about noteworthy things ponies do, in particular- ever looking for new stories to tell. Having had her eyes opened to the magic within the earth and soil while in Mti Nguva, Asilia has a particular love of discussing the arcane- be it traditional or alchemy- with ponies knowledgeable in the subject to compare notes and perhaps learn more from Equestrian minds. All it really takes to become Asilia's friend is to show that you're honest and want to get to know her; the rest, she feels, comes on it's own through discussion and time spent together.

Fears are something that Asilia has struggled with for a good part of her life. Perhaps the foremost one is a fear of fading into the background, a feeling she has had personal experience with. The other half of the reason she left her pack (alongside adventure) was because, despite how hard she worked, she never stood out among her peers; she was only ever just there, completely ignored when she wasn't messing up at something. To Cocoa, it was maddening to be so utterly unimportant to those she considered close to her. To Asilia, the fear takes the slightly different form of negative receptions to her shows: to one day tell a story and be booed away by a crowd. Though it has never happened to her before, the fear still drives her to learn new tales and find ways to change her routines on older ones, breathe new life into each performance so her acts never get stale.

As she travels long distances regularly, Asilia likes to stop in to towns and cities not only to tell stories, but to relax and unwind. She frequents salt dives and clubs alike when the mood catches her, able to cut it down with the best of them in both conversation and dancing. Whenever she's feeling more peaceful, she tends to drop by a library to study history in search of another story to tell, muddle about in alchemy, or forage for herbs and ingredients. For those times when she absolutely has to relax for a while or take a break, she rents a small home in Ponyville where she keeps belongings she cannot carry with her; there, she recharges her batteries in the quiet country town by making pottery (another art she picked up in Unyasi) or reading, and is easily able to depart for anywhere she wants due to Ponyville's central location in Equestria.

[starswirlthebearded]

Please tag this as [Ready] or [WiP]. Thanks

[Slazer]

Yeah, I realized I forgot that last night about fifteen minutes after I powered down and went to bed.

[Mojo]

Hi Slazer!

Though I am by no means an expert on Diamond Dog lure, from what I am reading here, this app looks fantastic! All of the required fields are filled and it's very well written.

I am recommending this app for further SRPH evaluation!

[Bellosh]