Zappatoshiki

Name: Anselma Heidenberg
Age: 27
Gender: Female
Description: If nothing else, height and weight are probably worth mentioning (+1 RUDE pts). 5’5” / 114 lbs.
 
Personality:
Anselma fits well into the role of a “good shepherd;” calm, patient, and amicable, she is the type of person who can listen to others and reserve judgement until they are finished speaking; before leaving to join the Dagger, other worshippers would approach her for advice, despite the monastery already having appointed a confessor. At the same time, she is reserved outside her priestly duties, not being the type to initiate a conversation, but rather listen in on others without spreading rumors, and would be the type of person one would find at a dinner party in a secluded corner of the hall, enjoying a glass of wine while lost in her own thoughts. She also has a natural curiosity, and very little fear of the unknown or new experiences, and this can, at times, lend itself to her carrying a mischievous streak.
 
History:
Upon the northernmost shores of Arvka, a small community centered itself upon a once-isolated monastery devoting itself to all the Grand Eidolons, but most of all to the great Ocean Lord, Leviathus.
 
The abbey’s history, as maintained by its chief priests, began when a family mourned upon the Eidolon War’s end, after the disappearance of the Grand Eidolons. In their mourning, they procured a giant flute; said to be made so that its song may reach the ears of those in the heavens. Its tune was meant to soothe the souls of the lost, to ease the ire of the Ocean Lord, and to grant peace to the fallen Grand Dragon.  And after the song was played, a humble Rune was inscribed upon the flute by the family head, to make it known their generation had done their part, and give the flute further strength in the generations to come, so the world might be mended. Their pilgrimage complete, the family built a home along the shore, and over time, the tradition was passed on, and the house evolved, accommodating themselves and travelers alike – some whom of course fell in love with a member of the family, and became part of it – until both family, home, and flute, became what they were today.
 
Yet all traditions hold their “road bumps” disrupting an otherwise peaceful flow through time, and Anselma’s generation, the sixteenth of the family bloodline, holds the dubious honor of being this potential splintering of their revered practice: for the family’s successor to play the “Song,” the original requiem once used to honor the dead and pay tribute to the Eidolons during the War, now extended for the repose of souls who await “the complete healing of the world,” and for the successor to inscribe yet another Rune upon the flute.
 
The incident troubling this generation, as is so often the case with other families, is a matter of succession. Anselma, while the elder of the two children of her family, was not born with an affinity towards inscribed Runes, but instead must rely upon Runes which appear on her body—she is, in other words, a Rune Weaver, long believed within the priestly line to be inherently incompatible with the flute; despite this, she has, at first in secret, then eventually to the public, insisted on playing the flute through other music besides the “Song.” Her younger brother, on the other hand, was born a Crafter who took his talents to travel abroad for the sake of inscribing an especially potent Rune upon the flute, at the expense of lacking Anselma’s talent for music.
 
Normally, the matter would be a non-issue: Anselma would play the flute’s “Song,” then pass the flute to her brother to inscribe his Rune, take the title of successor, and improve his musical aptitude over time. There is just one problem: Not only do both siblings covet the opportunity to become the family’s successor, but great animosity between them would make such cooperation impossible to begin with; thus, the family as a whole stands at an impasse.
 
With Anselma unwilling to pass the flute to her brother that he might practice with it, fearing its theft, her brother has chosen to attempt to break the stalemate spreading similar rumors, that her flute-play thus far has been merely practice for a dirge to call upon the same souls the flute has been meant to soothe—including the soul of Fafneros, in order to spite the hamlet, or even destroy the flute using her own Runes, sabotaging the Runes inscribed upon it one generation at a time.
 
Fearing their rivalry would turn hateful, violent, and bloody, the monastery’s priests, and the family head, held council to discuss the matter, lest it attract the wrath of the Eidolons. Though Anselma’s position made it seem impossible for her to inherit the title of successor, they saw through the brother’s lies: the flute was as important to her as her own life, and her behavior, besides the spite towards brother, was otherwise pious and befitting any other member of the family that founded the abbey. Thus the decision was made: much as the brother had left the village to hone his abilities as a Crafter, Anselma was to go on pilgrimage in order to seek a sufficient compromise as a Weaver, yet as the eldest child, had as much right to succession as her brother, and find a way – her own way – to become completely attuned with the flute. Of course, she was allowed to take the flute with her, but with the caveat that, should it ever be lost or destroyed, she would live forever with the guilt of crushing the integrity of the abbey and its traditions, and leaving the hamlet doomed to the wrath of the Eidolons.
 
Unfair as the conditions may have been – and as certain as she was her brother would use the pilgrimage as an opportunity to “prove” his rumors correct – it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity she could not ignore. She said her goodbyes to family and friends, took the flute, and found a ship that would ferry her safely out of the village and to new lands.
 
Her travels took her to Vaela, where her flute soon came into its engineers hands (with her consent, of course), and then Azuria, where her Runes and flute, eventually, caught the eye of Captain Amelia Garnet; he talents and background meant she was offered a role upon the Dagger as one learned, and quick to learn of, rites and various traditions across the world, both a physical and spiritual “healer” of sorts, and an on-board mediator of disputes.
 
Anselma, for her part, saw the position as the best way to expand her horizons and find the “answer” to her pilgrimage—and her own way to see that the world, through her power with the flute, come one step closer to being mended.
 
Ship Position: Chaplain’s Aide (position discussed and approved with Ishval)
 
Rune Affinity: Rune Weaver
 
Magitek Weapon:
“Simeon:” a 2 meter-long flute (large indeed, but playable, and meant to be played during use) carved from cedarwood, gilded completely with silver, and bejeweled with cabochons of sapphire, peridot, and amethyst. A sculpture representing Leviathus is affixed at the end closest to the mouthpiece.
Steel Rank: 0
Rune Rank: 0
Form Rank: 0
 
Misc Details:
Whether or not the flute’s still in her hands, or Vaela’s, or whoever else’s, I’ll leave up to the GM. Not too bothered since there’s the OOC reassurance it’ll come back to her anyways.
 
Demon Souls “feel”, if it’s there, is intentional, in case the “soul of the lost” and “so the world might be mended” hullaballoo didn’t give it away. And speaking of those quotes, boy am I tempted to give Anselma a certain voice to fit the part….