Tes’ana

The Tome of Tes’ana, the “Codex of Inner-Knowing”, despite it’s luminary status among those versed in the Umbral Arts, has remained one of the more elusive artifacts associated with the teachings of the so-called “dark magics” in the Vanusian System. Various explanations have been given by those who have either claimed to have held the book themselves, or more commonly, those who would say they knew of someone who had... legends and rumors throughout the years had described it in seemingly infinite variations, the book having been depicted as everything from a massive ornate black and gold lexicon the likes of which had never been replicated, to a small, seemingly mundane paperback; and the stories around it’s contents seemed equally contradictory... Or were they? The one commonality among those who’d found the tome seemed to be an inexorable draw to it, as though the book itself called out, coaxing them with a silent siren’s song, and based on this, the growing theory among those who studied ancient myths had begun to congeal around one particular explanation, one that unfortunately, made the recovery of the already notoriously ethereal artifact seem all the more impossible... Perhaps the tome itself could not be found... except by those few the book itself chose to do so.

The reality, at least to Tes’ana herself, was a bit more unremarkable... dull even, or so she would describe it, having had her essence bound to the book by an intrepid but overzealous group of sorcerers during the golden age of Umbral Arts in Vanus. The attempt had been to create a tome containing the complete lexicon of Noxian magical knowledge for use by mortals, linking the tome to the perpetual energies of the Grand Umbra by way of a lone noctis soul-bound within it, who would also serve as the guide and tutor of any who found themselves in need of it’s teachings. In one sense, they succeeded, ripping the then relatively young Tes’ana from the Umbra to exist between planes until she was needed, filling the book with a potent quintessence in the process. However, those who aided in it’s creation were not so lucky, as much of the energies used to seal the pact came straight from their own bodies, ending their own lives to empower the tome for centuries, maybe longer.

As the centuries passed into millennia however, the tome's ever-changing shroud would also prove to be it's symbolic sword of Damocles. The energies that powered the Tome were vast, but not infinite, and though those lucky few would occasionally discover the mysterious thing throughout the ages could be siphoned so long as it remained in their possession, the book was rarely held in one place for long, and as the legends of the tome faded into history to did nearly all of it's power go with it. Tes'ana, still bound and weakened within it, could only imagine what fate awaited her, what end she would face when the reservoirs of Umbral magic finally ran dry. The silver lining to this arrangement, small though it may have been, was that it required that the young noctis become an orator of some finesse, especially as the number of necromancers and those seeking the Tome declined throughout the ages. Every drop of energy was important... and if it meant taking a small initial loss to keep the wretched thing in someone, anyone's grip in the long run, at least it was preferable to disappearing entirely.

A small stint of time being held by a mixed felidae yielded little to no success, leaving the increasingly anxious noctis to fear another extended length of time in relative silence. Thankfully, it would be less than a year that the book would find itself in the hands of a new owner, this time a stubborn Snow Verneyi with a significant chip on his shoulder... a chip, Tes reckoned, that may be just big enough for a down-on-her-luck noctis to perch on. His energy was that of a healer, a very new prospect to Tes, who found it's flow almost enrapturing. She tried striking up conversation with the man (who reluctantly introduced himself as "Al"), keeping the angry fellow's hands on the book for as long as she possibly could, giving herself a chance to recover as much as she could in a short time, assuming that no healer would ever make a deal with one of the "savage" Nox. But the tome, the eternal albatross around her neck, finally deigned to make itself useful, allowing her to read into the poor lion's desires, showing his own need to overcome his chronic illness, to no longer burden his hardworking family. For Tes, it was a wish that cut deep... and she knew immediately what her offer might be...

"Allow me to bind myself to you... your ailments will be healed, and I'll finally be free of this book. We can both become whole."

Trusting her instincts, which were outright screaming that the steadfast Felidae would refuse outright, she took matters into her own paws, using a bit of her own magic to forge a temporary deal with the man, a "free trial" as she called it, noting his reluctance quickly waning in the face of his newfound health. Though he didn't agree to the deal outright, he *did* continue carrying the book with him, and for now, Tes decided, that would have to be enough. She certainly believed that she had a chance to be free of her curse once and for all, now, she just needed her new host to believe he could be free of his own...

Much like the Tome she's bound to, Tes'ana is a being of ever-changing form, making constant changes to her gender, species, and overall appearance simply for fun. However, she does have a few preferred transformations, notably a small, genderless "imp" form, a tomboyish, female "humanoid" form somewhat reminiscent of a felidae, and a hulking, decidedly male "monster" form. Her playful, flirty personality, combined with a dangerously sharp wit and a propensity to run at the mouth, make her a constant thorn in the side of the quiet, easily irritated Alabaster, who would be entirely more content to spend the day alone curled up with something he'd picked up from the local bookstore. Her tail, the "Ana" featured in her full name, is it's own semi-sentient being, relaying it's own feelings and urges to Tes telepathically, and though she can communicate back in a similar manner, she prefers to speak to it out loud, treating it like some sort of pet. Ana is a simple and generally well-behaved being, though that certainly won't stop Tes from blaming the mischief she encourages on the tail's own urges, letting it be a remarkably consistent scapegoat to her own misdeeds.