Blood & Flame

• Diamond

the spellslinger.

established 2012, written by alkymical. 30+. CST.

Pamina Shadecross. FFXIV. Crystal - Balmung.
This carrd/character may deal with 18+/nsfw/triggering themes.
Just look at the background, man.

"I PREFER THE SCENT OF
BLOWN-OUT CANDLES;
I CRAVE SMOKE OVER SWEETNESS."
— Kristen Costello

But I won't let you lead me

• Diamond

• Diamond

UPDATES
-4/9/2024: Gallery; Headcanons.

• Diamond

guidelines.

but she's a black magic woman, she's tryna make a devil outta me.

ooc. 30+. CST. I don't give two flying frijoles about the pronouns you use for me.I've been roleplaying for over 20 years and Pamina is one of my oldest characters, recreated with slight tweaks for each universe I've ever been involved in. Writing as a whole is my biggest/favorite hobby.

activity. I work a full-time job for 12 hour shifts, overnights. I'm free Sunday-Tuesday and every other Saturday, keeping in mind that I actively participate in Shady's open nights every Sunday.

• Diamond

interactions & plotting. I'm available for RP in-game and through Discord, though I am way less reliable when it comes to Discord.I'm always down for backstory stuff, or future plotting, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't easier for me to just go with the flow of RP when it comes to future stories.I'm easy-going when it comes to themes. I'm not interested in interacting with minors/minor chars (your char's kids don't count; you know what I mean) or people who are ridiculously bigoted/X-phobic, but everything else? For the sake of story, I don't have any hard lines. Just give me a heads up first, maybe.

formatting. In big, group settings (see: Shady's open nights), I tend to keep my posts super small as to be kind to the chat scroll. In the less populated settings, I can go for days.Frankly, I'm not picky. Give me something to reply to and I'll (try to) mirror you.

• Diamond

character disclaimer. Ability-wise, Pamina is as lore-bendy as they come. I tend to keep the details in close friend groups and with people who are cool with it, and tone it down in the public. If you're interested in her more...colorful side, feel free to hit me up and maybe we can plot something together.

shipping. Pamina is very much married, and very much enamored with the person she's married to. I guess your character can take a shot? If they want? But I don't guarantee she won't flambe them, if her SO doesn't first. May the odds be ever in their favor.

• Diamond

• Diamond

disclaimers. I'm respectful of the people who give respect back. If you're a bully, I'll take you to the playground. I've got low patience and/or tolerance for blending of IC/OOC and causing dramatic shitstorms like we're all in middle school as a result.If I've had "drama" with someone in the past, and you're catching wind of it, I promise I have that person blocked to save my own sanity. Every story's got three sides and frankly I don't give a shit enough to entertain any of them.Be cool with me and I'll be cool with you. Simple as that.

• Diamond

biography.

now your kindest remark, does not move me

I can erase everything that you know
I am death and I am not alone.

  name.   Pamina Shadecross (née Sauvageon).
  age.   23.
  race.   Half-midlander hyur/Half-duskwight elezen.
  birthday.   17th Sun of the 6th Umbral Moon (Dec 17).
  gender.   Female.
  pronouns.   She/her.
  sexuality.   Flexible.
  languages spoken.   Common/Eorzean; some Hingan; some old Ishgardian
  face claim.   Megan Fox

" I'm not going anywhere
'Cause I'm here to stay, I'm here to play.
Get used to it,
Nothing's gonna bring me down. "

  height.   5'3".
  hair color.   Naturally, a deep burgundy, but no one has seen it like that in a long time.
  eye color.   Icy blue.
  skin tone.   Tanned.
  notable features.   Multiple tattoos adorning her body, some depicting nature scenes, the name 'Nikklaus' sprawled across her collar, phases of the moon with a sun in rotation down her arm, a small lotus flower on her wrist, a depiction of a raven on her back with a grimoire behind it, a snake crawling up her midsection; scarring hidden by the back tattoos; unnaturally bright eyes; smaller pointed ears; multiple piercings in her ears; nipple, navel, nose, and less SFW piercings.

  miscellaneous details.   Pamina tends to adorn herself in jewelry, from earrings to regular rings, and it's rare to see her go without. She is absolutely never without her wedding ring.

  job occupation.   Alchemist-for-hire; co-proprietor of Shady's; liaison to the Crimson Lotus; council for the Undercity.
  place of origin.    A cave system near the ruins of Gelmorra.
  home.   Mist; Shady's in the Goblet
  affiliation.   The Undercity, the Crimson Lotus, House Vallieres.
  marital status.   Married.

  d&d alignment.   Neutral evil.
  mbti.   ISTJ-T.
  likes.   Books, solitude, the rain, hot tea, wine, her husband, comfy socks, experimenting with potions, nature and floral scenes, music of all sorts.
  dislikes.   Hard liquor/major mind-altering substances, the cold, chocobos, people with Nikklaus-based boundary issues, arrogant people (irony), silence.

headcanon one. For as prim, proper, and scary as she tries to come across, deep at the pit of her soul, Pamina is a huge nerd. Her happy place is curled up with a dozen or two books by a fireplace, sipping tea. She even has a giant pair of reading glasses.
headcanon two. Her natural haircolor, which hasn't been seen since she learned how to dye it, is a deep burgundy red.
headcanon three. Since bringing Xyphris back, any sort of usual manner of wielding healing magic causes Pamina physical pain. It's why she resorts to blood magic and her own aether if she absolutely must heal someone; sure, she's still causing damage to herself, but she argues that she feels less pain than using the conventional method.
headcanon four. She's been observed as being an extremely patient person: the reality is that she's not that patient, she's quiet. Pamina actually has an incredibly short fuse, and once she's pushed past her limits has a tendency to explode in ways perhaps a bit dramatic for the given situation.
headcanon five. Despite only being known outwardly as a liaison to the Crimson Lotus, she is actually quite a bit more deeply entwined with their ranks and their ongoings. She never admits as much to the general public, knowing what they've done to people like Xyphris and others. Nikklaus is the only one truly in the know.
headcanon six. Rumor has it that sometimes Pamina's personality does a 180, and she's extremely open, giggly, and loud. Rumor also has it her eyes seem...different when that happens.
headcanon seven. Pamina has a lot of hair. As a small child in the Shroud, her mother used to always make her pin it up to give the illusion that it was short. In Ishgard, the Vallieres would never let her grow it any longer than chin-length. As an adult, it's long, thick, and curly...and if she has to cut it because it's too long, she gets more than a little sad about it.
headcanon eight. As a kid in the caves, Pamina was taught to hunt. She used chakrams and glaives and was a little skilled with a bow, but the others were more prominent. While they're rarely seen today, she's still deadly with them.
headcanon nine. She is another one who has met Seda Dhen and learned from him. Some people take lessons from him and then jump on a pole. Pamina uses dancing as exercise.
headcanon ten. Secretly, she really likes moogles. She thinks they're cute. Tell no one.

origin.

Born the first daughter (and only half-blood), Pamina was the second eldest of three children born to Avienne Sauvageon. She was raised as little more than a simple herbalist who dabbled in a bit of conjury. Aside from her short stature and her penchant for wandering too far into the Shroud by herself, Pamina didn't stand out much to anyone. Or so she thought.She had a love of magic in all forms, and while conjury came easily to her and she didn't mind practicing it, the want to have to ability to do something more was always at the back of her mind.Once she reached her teens, she found herself sneaking off deeper into the Shroud to practice the magics forbidden by her mother. She became terribly proficient with them despite being-self taught. She kept it a secret from everyone and continued about her life as she was intended.One afternoon, Pamina stumbled across several elezen not native to the Shroud and claiming to be lost. Perhaps she was too trusting, too naive, or just had too big of a heart at her core, but she extended her aid to them, and while they initially seemed receptive to it, she quickly learned that their presence in the woods was but a ruse.They turned out to be slavers, hired specifically by a rich, noble family in Ishgard hailing from House Vallieres. Pamina was captured - bound and gagged - and thrown into the back of a chocobo cart for the entirety of a trip through Coerthas. When they arrived, she was delivered directly to the manor and received by the lord of the house, Abraut Vallieres. He had his servants take her to a room that was only large enough to fit a small, broken bed and a nightstand that contained a single drawer with a lantern atop it. That would become her home, her sanctuary when she wasn't made to scrub away every crevice of Ravensfall Manor, the home of the Vallieres family. She went on like this for the better part of a year, and every time that she failed to meet their expectations, she was beaten and flogged and then thrown back into her room. It would be days before anyone would unlock her door and seek her out again. This became Pamina's new normal - hunger, pain, and cold.One particularly cold night, the Vallieres' oldest son and heir, Yves, collapsed after a ball hosted at Ravensfall Manor, comatose. For a week, doctors and healers alike toiled over him to no success. They treated him for every ailment they could think of and still he would not wake. It was an evening after they had all but given up on the eldest that Pamina was tasked to clean him and the room, but left alone, her curiosity got the best of her. In an attempt to heal Yves, Pamina drew upon her own aether. It succeeded in waking him. He was conscious, long enough for Pamina to call upon the lord and lady of the house and his healers. He told them the cause of his collapse - poisoning by his own hand and accidental, and that Pamina had woken him. But while she'd the strength to wake him, her raw power was still uncontrolled at best. It was not enough to truly heal him and the poison had already ravaged him internally. As he passed away, Pamina collapsed.When she came to, she was no longer in her tiny room. She awoke in a large, luxurious bed in a room she was certain she could have fit her usual dwelling in five times over. The decor was lavish and the House's usual help waited on her hand and foot. Confused was an understatement, but she wouldn't receive an answer until Lady Etriane Vallieres herself came to see her the next morning.Even though she had failed Yves, Etriane had explained, they had been impressed with Pamina's display of such raw power. Having possessed no power of her own much like the rest of her family, Etriane believed that Pamina could be useful to them. With Yves dead and having no faith in their own daughter, Jenevieve, Etriane told her that she would no longer work as a servant, but instead would only be addressed as the Lord and Lady's youngest daughter. Pamina was to keep up this ruse on pain of death and eventually, she would fetch them a pretty price when they arranged her marriage to another noble house.The change was almost instantaneous. She was fitted with the most lavish of gowns. She was assigned tutors to help her best all subjects. No one looked down on her anymore. In fact, most showed her revelry while others, fear. Such was the result of having power, and Pamina? She was drunk on it.Time flew by. She learned. She grew. She attended the most fancy of balls and masquerades and moved in and out of the noble social crowds as if she were born to be there. It almost seemed as though her time in Gridania was lost and forgotten, the way that she melded to her new, but faux, life.One dark night, she was startled by a scraping behind her headboard. Her shock was tangible when her investigation led her to find a giant passageway behind her bed and in it, a miqo'te by the name of Xyphris Shadecross. His intentions weren't pure; he had come to rob Ravensfall Manor. It wasn't until she'd done a bit of probing that he admitted he was doing it not for personal gain, but for the children of the displaced denizens of the Brume. He had happened upon them after an accident and they had taken care of him, so he was trying to do the same for them. Pamina and Xyphris talked long into the night until dawn broke through her window, and then he left the same way he had come in.Xyphris and Pamina became fast friends. after some time, she started leaving with him the same way that he arrived, sneaking out of Ravensfall to meet with the Brumefolk and talk and play with the children. Occasionally, she'd find herself in trouble with the guard right alongside the rest of them, and the guard would trudge her back to Ravensfall to face the wrath of her would-be parents. Xyphris snuck his way into becoming a guard for House Vallieres and eventually, things between Xyphris and Pamina developed into something more...though to this day, what, neither of them can or will quite say. It was much to the chagrin of the lord and lady Vallieres that Pamina would roll around with such filth, and after letting it go on for far too long, Xyphris up and disappeared.Pamina never even had time to wonder where he went. Late at night, someone burst into her room and tied her up, blindfolded her, and gagged her before carting her out of Ravensfall Manor. She was thrown into a chocobo cart for the second time in her life, though this time, she had no idea where she was going. The cart didn't stop until they reached the arid desert outside of Ul'dah, where it was revealed to Pamina that she had been sold to a pleasure house. Distraught and broken, Pamina was thrust into the environment and forced to care for the girls and the establishment until she was of a proper age to actually entertain. The days and nights were long and miserable, but she muscled through them. When she actually joined the rest of the girls of the house a year later, she had a repeat customer she grew fond of by the name of Ceithil Ras'vanae. He never asked anything of her but her time and to talk, and talk they did. They discussed his business, though vaguely, and they discussed her fascination with magic. They found that the two of them had one very strong, shared interest: power. Being a sorcerer of sorts on his own, Ceithil began to teach her how to control her magic in secret and moreover, how to amplify her abilities with the void and with blood.One night, Ceithil arrived and took Pamina away from the pleasure house she had come to call home. He revealed himself as the kingpin of the Crimson Lotus, and that his organization had been behind her original kidnapping, though he hadn't known what the intentions of the Vallieres' had been. He told her what the Lotus was: a criminal organization operating under the guise of relic trading. They dealt in all manners of things, from drug peddling to information brokering to murder.Ceithil took her to Kugane, where he continued to train her and showed her what the branch of the Lotus was like in Kugane, as well as teaching her the customs and lifestyle of the area.While there, she asked Ceithil to look into Xyphris' whereabouts. Ceithil returned with the information that her friend had been captured by House Vallieres and that they had been holding him hostage and torturing him since the day she had been taken away. She demanded that he take her back to Ishgard to rescue Xyphris, but refused. Instead, she was put under the care of an elezen by the name of Camsyn Zeddicus, Xyphris' adoptive father and an agent of the Lotus. Together, they stormed the manor and killed everyone they encountered, including Lord and Lady Vallieres. They found Xyphris tied to a table in the cellar, dead. Pamina refused to believe it, and exerted all of her power into tethering to the tiniest spark of aether she could find within him to rip him back into life. She exhausted herself, and Camsyn flew the ailing miqo'te away on his airship, the Bleeding Raven to be cared for by a contact of his. Pamina, on the other hand, collapsed.She awoke weary and lacking any control of her actual healing magics with Ceithil by her bedside. He informed her that she was safe, deep in the bowels of the Crimson Lotus' branch in Kugane where she couldn't be found by anyone. He told her Camsyn, Xyphris' adoptive father, was a pirate and contracted to Ceithil and the Lotus to transport their black market goods. He had forced Camsyn to bring Xyphris to Kugane, where he would remain until he was fully healed. Ceithil offered Pamina the chance to stay within the confines of the Lotus, where he would teach her how to better harness her spellcraft and how to truly amplify her skillset, all to reach the goal they both so desperately yearned for: more power.She accepted, and she learned from him and from other agents of the Lotus, seeking as much knowledge as she could. It wasn't until summers later that she returned to the normal world and was reunited with Xyphris, who had become a changed man entirely. He told her of a woman he had met in Kugane by the name of Naime and that they had fallen in love, only for her to be killed in the street. The organization that killed her turned out to be none other than the Crimson Lotus, the hit ordered by Ceithil himself. Pamina kept the fact that she had been Ceithil's pupil and actively assisting the Lotus from Xyphris, instead lying to him and extending her story of being sold to the pleasure houses as an excuse for her absence.

present.

WIP

abilities.

physical combat.

strengths & weaknesses.

skills.

• Diamond

relationships.

both your face and your heart, do not suit me

A million words a second, and I know your imperfections
Baby, I'm the only future you've got.

avienne sauvageon. | Pamina's birth mother. Not much is known about her, and she hasn't seen her since she was taken from the Shroud.

kylian sauvageon. | Pamina's half-brother. Kylian and Pamina were never close, though he kept a keen eye on her love for herbalism.

Nikklaus Shadecross. | Pamina's husband. While they are an unconventional couple, Pamina is deeply attached to the sun-seeker. One might go as far as to say their marriage is unhealthy, perhaps even toxic, but who's keeping record?

Zhafina Pech. | Pamina's half-sister from Aslan's side of the family. Not much is known about her.

aslan calidon. | Pamina's birth father. They met somewhat late in life and briefly. Her mother described him as a simple tradesman from Thavnair passing through the Shroud.

astaris sauvageon. | Pamina's half-sister.

Acalan Pech. | Pamina's half-brother from Aslan's side of the family. Not much is known about him.

Harper Delacroix. | carrd. | Pamina's half-sister from Aslan's side of the family. Pamina first met Harper as a co-worker, then later, a student, and now, a friend.

Iriseli Miret-moor. | carrd. | Pamina's half-sister from Aslan's side of the family. Pamina has known Iriseli, and known of her, for years thanks to their mutual dealings in the Lotus.

Xyphris Shadecross. | carrd. |A long-time friend from Ishgard who just happened to also be Nikklaus' older brother. The two are close, bonded even, even if they don't always operate in the same scope.

Ithil Shadecross. | Pamina's brother-in-law. The calmer, kinder of the Shadecross brood. While they aren't close, Pamina admires him greatly.

Eris Shadecross. | Pamina's sister-in-law, Nikklaus; twin. They've met a total of once, and she's certain she's now seen Nikklaus as a woman.

Ceithil Ras'vanae. | Friend? Mentor? Savior? Captor? Pamina isn't quite sure what to call Ceithil, not really, but she both hates and admires him all at once. The draw of power is simply one she cannot deny.

Camsyn Zeddicus. | Pamina's father-in-law, Nikklaus' adoptive father. While she's known Camsyn for longer than she's known Nikklaus (thanks to Xyphris and the Lotus), she's wary of him for a multitude of reasons.

U'nayeli Shadecross. | carrd. | Pamina's sister-in-law, Ithil's wife. Sometimes, she wonders if Ithil and Nikklaus accidentally traded wives. Other times, she wonders if Ithil's slowly going insane having to put up with her.

Zephyr Shadecross. | Pamina's brother-in-law. He crashed on her couch for a time, drug-addled and out of it. If anything, she feels sorry for him.

Pahja Entialpoh. | Xyphris' ex-wife and a conjurer. Sometimes, she feels like she's looking into a picture of "what could have been" when she stares at her. If she hadn't chosen the low road, of course.

Picture-perfect image, more powerful every minute
Baby, I am everything that you're not.

• Diamond

gallery.

18+/NSFW ahead. Some images reflect designs no longer being used. Art is credit to the artist.