Sonatina Erano

design cost 300c$, human design 300c$

total art cost 1300c$ and 500kp

Icon by genie 200kp

30 march 2022

She's a magician, but how does magic in this world work?

A marking on or around you glows during chanting and magic use, and that marking also appears on the floor beneath you. The marking on the floor is just made of light and disappears at the end, but during extremely intensive spells it may be burnt into the ground. Your mark dictates what you have an affinity for, and it cannot be changed - even if you burnt or lost that part of your body that held that marking, your sigil will stay the same. It is generally the largest marking on your body. The larger the marking, the stronger spells you will be able to use. Many also use their marking as their signature, as very few markings are the exact same.

Sonatina's mark is her halo, the circular one floating behind her head. While it is not the largest, it is certainly larger than all markings present on the body, because a halo isn't bound by how much space you have on your skin. As a result she has great potential, and faces pressure from her teachers to perform well. Her main affinity are wings, and she can manipulate feathers and levitate small things. She has many theories on where else she can take her affinity- flight was the obvious one, but what about controlling birds? Maybe making things grow a pair of wings? Or make herself grow wings?

She performs brilliantly in the Academy, matching and sometimes exceeding the high expectations placed on her. She personally enjoys the attention as well as studying magic theory so it was a win-win for her. She isn't sure where specifically to go after the Academy, but she does know she wants a job that lets her explore the limits of her affinity and her magic. Tina is extremely competitive, and sometimes can get mean-spirited about it. Unfortunately the school culture encourages competition, so she's never been scolded for making harsh comments about her classmates. She's quite self-centered too, and egotistical. Tina has many flaws, all unnoticed by her as she pursues her desires of praise and skill.

Other world-building info

• the glow of your magic depends on the main color on your fur - for Tina this is blue
• the glow of the mark depends on its own color - Tina's halo is white, so the glow is white
• mana is a thing too - maybe larger markings also equal larger mana pool
• there's historical places where someone's mark was burned into the earth - often places of war and strife
• there are different benefits/detriments to a marking's complexity. Simple markings mean you have an affinity for a broader range of things, but cannot do much (eg a circle mark may mean control over rings, balls, hoops, wheels, but all you can do is move them). A complex and specific marking means limited range, but greater control (eg a marking of a lunar moth means controlling only lunar moths, but you can call them to you, alter their behaviour, create moths, and so on).
• Generally a medium complexity is preferred, because you can push the boundaries a bit. Eg for Tina, does her halo mean she can control birds? Give objects 3 pairs of wings? Control circle-like objects? If you have a super-simple mark (eg circle) or a highly specific mark (eg lunar moth), there's not much grey area for you to explore. 
• for the actual magic, maybe its logic based - like an equation or sentence you say aloud. You change variables/words/structures/emphasis of the sentence to form different things. 
• there has never been a magician with an affinity for things outside of their mark - only gods and demigods have this
• what does an affinity even mean? maybe everyone has control over the basics (elemental control?), and anything else is based on their mark. 
• therefore places like the Academy are very important, because a person's mark is so unique to them. Anyone can teach you the basics, but you have to really do research to learn about what you can do with your mark. What did other people with similar marks do? What spells did they use that you can alter to fit your ability?
• Clothing is pretty varied, since people want to show off their marks.