Iris, mage of Glass

House Domina Personalities

Iris of House Domina

Female, age 28

Hair - blond; Eyes - grey-blue; Skin Tone - tanned

Preferred Clothing - stylish semi-formal wear, but loves these things in satins and odd fabrics; loves broken-in jeans and boots for walking long distances.

Specialties - Iris' greatest love is travel and open spaces, so her specialties include many spells of flight, wind and dreams.

Weaknesses - because she has a wandering nature, Iris is often seen as merely a drifting mage, or worse, a vagabond, gypsy or not even a mage at all. She doesn't mind these things, but she does fear for her personal freedom - captivity is her worst fear.

Wand - Iris' unique wand was created by her in a dream. Her powers focused into a blue-colored glass object more than 3 feet long, with a swirling clear and glowing tip. It has many uses, focusing her powers but also supplying light, entrancing and hypnosis, and scrying.

Familiar - none, yet...

Unusual Studies - Dream Gathering. Iris is adept at locating dreaming individuals and teleporting to their side, via her glass wand. However she does not invade the privacy of these dreamers any further - merely catches the gist and energy from their dreams. When things do go sour in the dreamlands, she can transport her spirit there, and assist if possible.

Iris took a good look around her and decided that her work was done. The mindscape of this young elfin creature was scoured clean of debris, and he wouldn't remember much about his encounter with the nightmarish creatures that had invaded his mind.

With the tip of her wand glowing with a faint white-blue light, she smiled and vanished from his mind.

***

Waking from that kind of trance always was a bit of a letdown for Iris. She roused herself from her half-sleep and cleared her throat, stretching her tight back.

"That went well," she decided. One of the attendant wisps watching her body while she was gone flickered with a happy sort of swirling. "Yes, I think I will. Thanks for keeping me safe." The wisp flickered on and off, then zipped away.

Iris rose from her soft 'papasan' chair, with a bit of difficulty. It was comfortable, certainly, but hardly easy to get out of. Its round caressing mattress seemed to want Iris to remain nestled on it. She'd half a mind to get the artificer to create a mouth or some kind of speaker for it - it certainly had enough personality to deserve one.

She put on her slippers, set aside her wand, and went shuffling down to the kitchen to see if there was something brewing.

House Domina was almost empty, most of the time Iris had been there. She'd spent her early teen years at one of the minor Schools, but had never quite been Sorted into a true House. That inability to be classified led to Iris being shuffled about from one House to another, through four other Schools until her 19th birthday.

When she was escorted through the last School, one Sorting device had to be prodded by an odd looking orange-haired woman into speaking a new House name: Domina. Perhaps if Iris didn't belong to the traditional houses, there was a rather new, unconventional one just started up. If even one or two students were Sorted to Domina, that was a miracle.

Iris turned to the head of her new House, and bowed, sealing their official relationship as Professor and Student. It had been easy for both young women to get along, and it seemed to Iris that Zora was still learning, herself, even while teaching.

Iris glanced at the kitchen door, hoping that it wasn't going to burst open just at the wrong moment. It'd happened before, causing some hilarity and a lot of spilled soup ... And fortunately for Iris, this time, there was no one waiting on the other side of the door for such an occurance.

The kitchen smelled better than the whole rest of the school, except -in Iris' mind- for the freshly cut grass outside on the practice fields. This evening there was bread fresh-baked, honey butter and a gigantic ham glistening with its brown sugar coating. Yams, carrots and fresh greens completed a plate that Iris loaded up.

"Y'sure are skinny fer such a big eater," commented one of the cooks.

Iris turned and lifted one eyebrow at this, but said nothing, prefering to poke a bread stick into her mouth and make her way back to the dining hall.

There were three students and a number of the staff lounging about and eating when Iris got there. She sat next to Trudy, preferring the loud ghost-catcher to the eerie mental taint that Lucas had around him at all times.

"How'd it go?" Asked Trudy, brightly.

"It went well. The boy had not slept in days, the imps were ready to overtake him. They gnaw at young life like that." Iris said. She noticed how Lucas looked away with a distant scowl.

"But anyway I distracted them well enough that I could place some hidden healing spells and a shield around him, and when the imps had enough of me, they couldn't stomach chewing on him any more. I think he'll be okay." Iris was dutifully proud of her work. It took years of study to find spells that could be placed on people's souls from a distance the way she worked. But she'd mastered it sufficiently that she could now banish most evil things from minds.

She got the feeling that there were such things gnawing at Lucas, by the way he listened and changed his expression. But she was still a bit scared of him - after all, wasn't he like older than dirt and...

"Imps are nothing, but it is good that you can conquer them," he said, startling Iris and almost making her drop her fork.

"They're hardly nothing," Iris said, echoed by Trudy.

"Well, then," Lucas said, rising and taking one or two bread sticks for himself wherever he was headed, "I dearly hope you never encounter the things I've had to live with. It would crush you."

He walked away, and Iris watched him with narrow eyes. "If you'd ever talk about it, maybe I would be better prepared. If ever that happened to me."

Though he was halfway down the long hall, Lucas stopped, and paused for a moment at Iris' words. "Come along then," he said. "Leave your dinner. You won't want it in a minute."

With a tightness in her gut, Iris thought about this. Follow him? She'd barely gotten up from her extended battle with the spirit imps, and now what? Well, though she was hungry it wasn't all that big of a deal to cast a preservation spell upon the plate of hot food. She'd get to it later. For now, she rose and went after the elder man.

The evening sun came through the large stained glass windows of Lucas' hallway. No one else but his two odd children would go down this hall, so most Domina house inhabitants called it 'his' hall. Iris was uncomfortable in his presence. She was tall, taller than the other women in the House at least, but not nearly so much so as this lean man beside her.

With her experience in healing arts, she knew that there was something different about him. Iris' senses in the magical spectrum showed him as a dark, tainted mess of desires, fears and scars. But there was something more to him too. He tried so hard, in fact there was never a time when he seemed actively trying to scare anyone. He was usually apt to help out at the infirmary when there was an accident, he always had some clever spell or bit of information when in the Dark Arts Defense classes. If anything, Iris wondered if there was something preventing him from being seen in a better light?

He was silent, as they walked. Completely silent, Iris heard nothing, not even what should have been the swishing of his clothing or the gentle sound of skin on marble floor from his bare feet.

"Staring is rude," Lucas said, with a smirk only visible on the half of his face that Iris couldn't see.

"Sorry -" Iris said, faintly.

"But it's all right with me, if you want to stare. My ego needs plenty of fuel." Said so flatly, Iris wondered if he was joking or not. They stopped at a tall doorway at the end of the long hall, and Lucas opened it. "Please come in," he said.

Hesitating, Iris wondered, what could be beyond the ... Well, it was just a room after all. She looked and then stepped inside when it seemed she'd been standing there a little too long. A nice room, actually an antichamber with several doorways leading to darker or more private rooms.

It was filled with books, potions, and objects. But there were also several chairs, a nice large table, and globes which came to life when they entered the room lending a warm glow to everything.

"So you believe imps to be the limit of your warding ability, do you?" Lucas said, sitting down at a tall-backed chair. He indicated another, soft looking one, which Iris took for herself.

"I had a difficult time keeping track of them all," Iris said. "They're quick, and they seem to be everywhere at once."

"That is their main playing point," Lucas said. "But they are merely causing havoc. Damage requires actual intent."

Iris pondered this. "You mean to say that imps are just like... an effect? They have minds of their own, you know," she said a bit too snidely.

"They have the minds of young eager destructive children, yes. But little more than that. They take direction very well." Lucas leaned into the back of the chair, "very well."

"... And are you implying that they were there under some... thing's direction?" Iris asked, concerned. If that were the case, then...

"I am, they usually appear where they are directed to go."

"Well what about the imps at this House?" Iris said, not quite wanting to believe him.

"They belong here. They've been here since long before most other creatures. They were probably sent by something or some one who is long dead, to pester the inhabitants because of some grudge or other. Who can say why they remain."

Iris mulled through the things he'd said. "Well, then, I should find out why this boy I've been helping was being attacked."

Faintly grinning, Lucas nodded his head. "That would be prudent."

Iris stood, but Lucas waved his hand for her to sit.

"I should get on it," she said, pausing.

"But you'll just be back shortly to ask me about what you find. And did you not express interest in that very subject mere minutes ago?" Lucas said.

"You just wanted to spook me out," Iris muttered, sitting back down. Then she looked back at him, as he gave off a bemused chuckle.

"It is never quite my intent, but I always do, don't I?" He said. "No, listen. Iris, your duty, it seems to me, is to guard against intrusions and keep pure those people who need defending. You should know that there are far worse things with more deadly intentions than just a pack of imps set upon a young elf."

"So you've said." Iris said, "but what does that mean, exactly?"

"There is a ... heirarchy, levels of evil among demons. Imps are the lowest form. Their masters could be anyone, but they are usually some minor troublemaker."

"Do you think I would be able to fight one of those?" Iris asked. "I mean, I did have a rather long battle. I was using some clever spells."

"I'm sure you were," Lucas said. "And yes, I believe you would be able to hold your own against a ghoul."

Iris drew herself up a little, grinning. But before she said anything stupid or self-congratulatory, Lucas added, "shall we find out?"

Sputtering, heart skipping a beat, Iris said, "what?! NO!"

"Why not?" Lucas said, standing and glancing at a darkened room. "I've got the capability to summon one. It would only be a small one, and it couldn't get away until you banish it."

"I ... no! I don't think I-"

"I think you could," Lucas said. "And more, I believe you should. Just to know the next step. You're quite young and rather inexperienced. But you have enough talent to take on a ghoul."

He waggled his hand, tossed his head toward the dark room, "come on. I won't allow you to be hurt."

"You vile tempter, you," Iris said, half against her better judgement standing and following him.

House Domina Personalities
	Iris of House Domina Female, age 28 Hair - blond; Eyes - grey-blue; Skin Tone - tanned Preferred Clothing - stylish semi-formal wear, but loves these things in satins and odd fabrics; loves broken-in jeans and boots for walking long distances. Specialties - Iris' greatest love is travel and open spaces, so her specialties include many spells of flight, wind and dreams. Weaknesses - because she has a wandering nature, Iris is often seen as merely a drifting mage, or worse, a vagabond, gypsy or not even a mage at all. She doesn't mind these things, but she does fear for her personal freedom - captivity is her worst fear. Wand - Iris' unique wand was created by her in a dream. Her powers focused into a blue-colored glass object more than 3 feet long, with a swirling clear and glowing tip. It has many uses, focusing her powers but also supplying light, entrancing and hypnosis, and scrying. Familiar - none, yet... Unusual Studies - Dream Gathering. Iris is adept at locating dreaming individuals and teleporting to their side, via her glass wand. However she does not invade the privacy of these dreamers any further - merely catches the gist and energy from their dreams. When things do go sour in the dreamlands, she can transport her spirit there, and assist if possible.
Iris took a good look around her and decided that her work was done. The mindscape of this young elfin creature was scoured clean of debris, and he wouldn't remember much about his encounter with the nightmarish creatures that had invaded his mind. With the tip of her wand glowing with a faint white-blue light, she smiled and vanished from his mind. *** Waking from that kind of trance always was a bit of a letdown for Iris. She roused herself from her half-sleep and cleared her throat, stretching her tight back. "That went well," she decided. One of the attendant wisps watching her body while she was gone flickered with a happy sort of swirling. "Yes, I think I will. Thanks for keeping me safe." The wisp flickered on and off, then zipped away. Iris rose from her soft 'papasan' chair, with a bit of difficulty. It was comfortable, certainly, but hardly easy to get out of. Its round caressing mattress seemed to want Iris to remain nestled on it. She'd half a mind to get the artificer to create a mouth or some kind of speaker for it - it certainly had enough personality to deserve one. She put on her slippers, set aside her wand, and went shuffling down to the kitchen to see if there was something brewing. House Domina was almost empty, most of the time Iris had been there. She'd spent her early teen years at one of the minor Schools, but had never quite been Sorted into a true House. That inability to be classified led to Iris being shuffled about from one House to another, through four other Schools until her 19th birthday. When she was escorted through the last School, one Sorting device had to be prodded by an odd looking orange-haired woman into speaking a new House name: Domina. Perhaps if Iris didn't belong to the traditional houses, there was a rather new, unconventional one just started up. If even one or two students were Sorted to Domina, that was a miracle. Iris turned to the head of her new House, and bowed, sealing their official relationship as Professor and Student. It had been easy for both young women to get along, and it seemed to Iris that Zora was still learning, herself, even while teaching. Iris glanced at the kitchen door, hoping that it wasn't going to burst open just at the wrong moment. It'd happened before, causing some hilarity and a lot of spilled soup ... And fortunately for Iris, this time, there was no one waiting on the other side of the door for such an occurance. The kitchen smelled better than the whole rest of the school, except -in Iris' mind- for the freshly cut grass outside on the practice fields. This evening there was bread fresh-baked, honey butter and a gigantic ham glistening with its brown sugar coating. Yams, carrots and fresh greens completed a plate that Iris loaded up. "Y'sure are skinny fer such a big eater," commented one of the cooks. Iris turned and lifted one eyebrow at this, but said nothing, prefering to poke a bread stick into her mouth and make her way back to the dining hall. There were three students and a number of the staff lounging about and eating when Iris got there. She sat next to Trudy, preferring the loud ghost-catcher to the eerie mental taint that Lucas had around him at all times. "How'd it go?" Asked Trudy, brightly. "It went well. The boy had not slept in days, the imps were ready to overtake him. They gnaw at young life like that." Iris said. She noticed how Lucas looked away with a distant scowl. "But anyway I distracted them well enough that I could place some hidden healing spells and a shield around him, and when the imps had enough of me, they couldn't stomach chewing on him any more. I think he'll be okay." Iris was dutifully proud of her work. It took years of study to find spells that could be placed on people's souls from a distance the way she worked. But she'd mastered it sufficiently that she could now banish most evil things from minds. She got the feeling that there were such things gnawing at Lucas, by the way he listened and changed his expression. But she was still a bit scared of him - after all, wasn't he like older than dirt and... "Imps are nothing, but it is good that you can conquer them," he said, startling Iris and almost making her drop her fork. "They're hardly nothing," Iris said, echoed by Trudy. "Well, then," Lucas said, rising and taking one or two bread sticks for himself wherever he was headed, "I dearly hope you never encounter the things I've had to live with. It would crush you." He walked away, and Iris watched him with narrow eyes. "If you'd ever talk about it, maybe I would be better prepared. If ever that happened to me." Though he was halfway down the long hall, Lucas stopped, and paused for a moment at Iris' words. "Come along then," he said. "Leave your dinner. You won't want it in a minute." With a tightness in her gut, Iris thought about this. Follow him? She'd barely gotten up from her extended battle with the spirit imps, and now what? Well, though she was hungry it wasn't all that big of a deal to cast a preservation spell upon the plate of hot food. She'd get to it later. For now, she rose and went after the elder man. The evening sun came through the large stained glass windows of Lucas' hallway. No one else but his two odd children would go down this hall, so most Domina house inhabitants called it 'his' hall. Iris was uncomfortable in his presence. She was tall, taller than the other women in the House at least, but not nearly so much so as this lean man beside her. With her experience in healing arts, she knew that there was something different about him. Iris' senses in the magical spectrum showed him as a dark, tainted mess of desires, fears and scars. But there was something more to him too. He tried so hard, in fact there was never a time when he seemed actively trying to scare anyone. He was usually apt to help out at the infirmary when there was an accident, he always had some clever spell or bit of information when in the Dark Arts Defense classes. If anything, Iris wondered if there was something preventing him from being seen in a better light? He was silent, as they walked. Completely silent, Iris heard nothing, not even what should have been the swishing of his clothing or the gentle sound of skin on marble floor from his bare feet. "Staring is rude," Lucas said, with a smirk only visible on the half of his face that Iris couldn't see. "Sorry -" Iris said, faintly. "But it's all right with me, if you want to stare. My ego needs plenty of fuel." Said so flatly, Iris wondered if he was joking or not. They stopped at a tall doorway at the end of the long hall, and Lucas opened it. "Please come in," he said. Hesitating, Iris wondered, what could be beyond the ... Well, it was just a room after all. She looked and then stepped inside when it seemed she'd been standing there a little too long. A nice room, actually an antichamber with several doorways leading to darker or more private rooms. It was filled with books, potions, and objects. But there were also several chairs, a nice large table, and globes which came to life when they entered the room lending a warm glow to everything. "So you believe imps to be the limit of your warding ability, do you?" Lucas said, sitting down at a tall-backed chair. He indicated another, soft looking one, which Iris took for herself. "I had a difficult time keeping track of them all," Iris said. "They're quick, and they seem to be everywhere at once." "That is their main playing point," Lucas said. "But they are merely causing havoc. Damage requires actual intent." Iris pondered this. "You mean to say that imps are just like... an effect? They have minds of their own, you know," she said a bit too snidely. "They have the minds of young eager destructive children, yes. But little more than that. They take direction very well." Lucas leaned into the back of the chair, "very well." "... And are you implying that they were there under some... thing's direction?" Iris asked, concerned. If that were the case, then... "I am, they usually appear where they are directed to go." "Well what about the imps at this House?" Iris said, not quite wanting to believe him. "They belong here. They've been here since long before most other creatures. They were probably sent by something or some one who is long dead, to pester the inhabitants because of some grudge or other. Who can say why they remain." Iris mulled through the things he'd said. "Well, then, I should find out why this boy I've been helping was being attacked." Faintly grinning, Lucas nodded his head. "That would be prudent." Iris stood, but Lucas waved his hand for her to sit. "I should get on it," she said, pausing. "But you'll just be back shortly to ask me about what you find. And did you not express interest in that very subject mere minutes ago?" Lucas said. "You just wanted to spook me out," Iris muttered, sitting back down. Then she looked back at him, as he gave off a bemused chuckle. "It is never quite my intent, but I always do, don't I?" He said. "No, listen. Iris, your duty, it seems to me, is to guard against intrusions and keep pure those people who need defending. You should know that there are far worse things with more deadly intentions than just a pack of imps set upon a young elf." "So you've said." Iris said, "but what does that mean, exactly?" "There is a ... heirarchy, levels of evil among demons. Imps are the lowest form. Their masters could be anyone, but they are usually some minor troublemaker." "Do you think I would be able to fight one of those?" Iris asked. "I mean, I did have a rather long battle. I was using some clever spells." "I'm sure you were," Lucas said. "And yes, I believe you would be able to hold your own against a ghoul." Iris drew herself up a little, grinning. But before she said anything stupid or self-congratulatory, Lucas added, "shall we find out?" Sputtering, heart skipping a beat, Iris said, "what?! NO!" "Why not?" Lucas said, standing and glancing at a darkened room. "I've got the capability to summon one. It would only be a small one, and it couldn't get away until you banish it." "I ... no! I don't think I-" "I think you could," Lucas said. "And more, I believe you should. Just to know the next step. You're quite young and rather inexperienced. But you have enough talent to take on a ghoul." He waggled his hand, tossed his head toward the dark room, "come on. I won't allow you to be hurt." "You vile tempter, you," Iris said, half against her better judgement standing and following him.