Cuán O’ Cuinn
Profile
Basic Information
Name:
Nickname(s):
Age:
Birth Date:
Height:
Gender:
Race:
Class:
Occupation:
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Enhancement(s):
Cuán O’ Cuinn
Coincoin
24
3rd Thawing, Year of Paths 8271 (Pristis the Leviathan)
6' (181cm)
Male
Human
Sorcerer (Ice/Acid)
Bestiary Illustrator/Archivist
Saileach Glas Library
Likes
Birds, black coffee, sugar-laced tea, blankets, homemade things, poisonous flowers (more of a fascination), familiars
Dislikes
Cats, sharp things, people tidying up his ‘mess’, stiff clothes, overstimulation (mostly aural)
Personality
Booksmart // Emotionally illiterate // Simple // Easily overwhelmed // Benevolent // Free-spirited // Seemingly apathetic
Cuan, while smart, finds social settings difficult to understand. He has trouble reading between the lines and takes people at face value, which includes misinterpreting sarcasm and letting hints fly over his head. He is self conscious of how his emotional illiteracy might come off to others and so keeps to himself to avoid misunderstandings. His lack of engagement unintentionally comes off as disinterest or detachment, misleadingly painting him as a lone wolf.
In contrast, if you are willing to meet him on his level with a bit of patience and lead him out of his shell, he proves to be generally amiable and comfortable enough to express himself. He is more confident and open in situations that allow him to take his time to think (taking a conversation slowly, or replying to a letter). He doesn’t dress up his words nor does he have ulterior motives when people open up to him. He also doesn’t seek out hidden meanings in people’s words either, so you can trust him to believe you are being upfront. He might not appear to be friendlier, but you will pick up changes in his body language and tone of voice.
He prefers to handle one thing at a time as he is easily overwhelmed if a situation is getting out of his hands too quickly. If things get too much he usually has to physically calm himself down, so as to stop himself from doing something stupid out of stress. He is less prone to freaking out if he is able to share the stress with someone else. Like with most things, with time and encouragement he can learn to handle these situations.
He is most at home in the company of people he finds commonality with, usually hobbies or an interest to learn. His demeanour is relaxed when discussing topics he’s familiar with, which helps him open up and engage with strangers he would otherwise be closed off towards. There is a vibrancy behind his passions that is not often seen otherwise.
History
Cuan had always been an introvert at heart. He was always seen hiding behind his parents as a child, and generally had to be pushed to socialise with other people his age. He was often happy to be alone and found it difficult to talk or open up to even his own relatives. His parents were delighted when he showed aptitude towards magecraft and an interest to pursue it, hoping if he could learn with others under a tutor he might be able to break out of his shell.
He was selected to be part of a small class that met up several times a week. As he entered his teen years, he was slowly maturing out of his shyness and he actually found it enjoyable to be among company. He had some close friends now, having studied alongside them for years and chasing their own goals in magecraft.
When he was 15, his tutor took the students out to Wispwood to collect some flora. These usually went without a hitch thanks to guides that accompanied them, but it takes only one chance for things to go wrong. Something from the darkness attacked the guide closest to Cuan and he happened to suffer the most collateral damage. He fainted while some of the others experienced mild disorientation, and the group was rushed back to Iadlain.
Cuan awoke a few days later with no recollection of anything prior to the incident. A cause for alarm, but since nothing else seemed to be wrong with him it was attributed to suffering from emotional shock. He had been right next to the only casualty in the group, after all. Feeling optimistic, he was discharged to recover in more familiar surroundings. He was determined to get back on his feet and threw himself back into his daily life as soon as he could.
After a few weeks, he started to recall smaller things like who the local shopkeepers and his neighbours were, but nothing more personal like his family or friends. People continued to treat him as before, but it was slowly dawning on Cuan that these interactions were not becoming more familiar to him, but more confusing and invasive. Frustrations and misunderstandings towards him increased over time, and he reflected that back to others as everyone’s patience started to thin.
The final straw was discovering he forgot most of his knowledge of magic. With nothing left of what was before, he came to the shattering realisation that his old life was well and truly gone. Now unable to keep up with his friends, he dropped out of group classes and began again with a private tutor. Eventually he withdrew from socialising to the safety of the only thing he understood and trusted: himself.
Cuan’s parents recognised this familiar scenario from his childhood, and so encouraged him to seek out a new community elsewhere. They suggested he volunteer at the library when he wasn’t studying, perhaps also to take his mind off what he had lost. He started digging through books on fauna research, scratching a new itch of curiosity he had developed after his memory loss. Responsibilities started out small, but he learned more about what it took to run the place. Cuan found interest in how the libraries maintained and made their collections, eventually mustering the courage to ask around to see if he could get himself involved.
He managed to land an apprenticeship in book restoration, eventually branching out into illustration as well. Still feeding his curiosity he chose to specialise in bestiary illustration, drawing images from illusion captures sent back by research teams. On other occasions he would be copying and touching up books from library collections.
Current Story
The war blows up outside Iadlain, until the forest starts biting back. His mother is almost killed on Harvest Eve 8291 when the forest goes into an uproar being overharvested. He starts to increase the number of classes with his tutor, in hopes of keeping up with the growing dangers not just for research’s sake, but also for peace of mind.
He stays tucked in the city’s heart as the horrors run wild, unable to do much else for his home other than equip those who can. He starts to question his ability to help, but for now he must have confidence in his words rather than his wand. He continues his lessons.
A dark figure rises from the earth, and like many others he ventures out hoping to find answers,. After finding he was lacking, he retreats back to the confines of his desk work recording the research instead. Maybe he shouldn’t leave the city again.
Once the horrors come to him, he realises there is nowhere to run. He accepts that all he can do is his best. And then, the true dark figure rises - Atros wakes, and hope of his memory returning suddenly feels real again. The generals loom overhead as horrors enter the city. Though afraid, he steels himself for the influx of both monsters and research. Saeliach Glas Library is his home for now.
As things shape up to be nothing but hostile in Cassair’s wake, he finds solace in books and ink. He fights with these, not iron or fire. The swift accuracy of his pen is also used to copy seals and spells for those more professional, and he discovers this magic is for him. An intricate and intentional magic - sagecraft - and is finally content to stop looking for the little mage that didn’t come home all those years ago.
Additional Info
Cloak on/off ref (x)
Fluent in Common and Iadlic Canan, plus is versed in specialised vocabulary relating to Alvan biodiversity in several languages from the East Continent, and also Xechasei.
Prays almost daily to Atros in hopes his memory will return. The faith behind it had long faded, until recently when He rose out of the sea.
After dropping out of group classes, he started doing one on one tutoring instead. He felt relearning magic would give him common ground to get reacquainted with his old friends, but nowadays it’s more in response to the growing unrest in Wispwood. He feels that relearning his skills is harder than it was before his memory loss, but he truly has no point of reference.
As a way to ‘find himself’ after the incident, he pursued reinventing his look to a low degree, resulting in dyeing his hair rose gold (he’s a natural light brunette) and taking to bird inspired accessories.
Likes to visit the Saileach Glas Library’s Aviary to sketch the birds. It’s one of the clearer pastimes he remembers post-attack since he used to sneak off there alone between classes (also since he predominantly works there now it’s just Convenient).
Permanently looks tired and doesn’t have a consistent sleep schedule. Does he even sleep? Some say he doesn’t. He is likely to pass out if he lies down though.
Terrible posture. Always slouches, sits weirdly with his feet up on a nearby surface, crosslegged, etc. Probably hyperflexible.
Maintains a tree in his yard for the stray hollow spiders in his neighbourhood. He did properly adopt two of them.
Has been out with a few research teams before, but never as the sole combatant (see Magic Info below) and mostly takes an observer role.
The inside of his cloak is glamoured, usually with types of unsuspectingly toxic flowers (pictured: white oleander)
Works meticulously and unconventionally with remarkable copy accuracy
Pros: can transfer capturist’s vision/original manuscripts near perfectly
Cons: can be too literal (eg. recreating blurry parts in a capture rather than artistic license, not fixing spelling errors in manuscripts)
His art style resembles vintage lithographs with heavy emphasis on linework, like natural history illustrations and Shirahama Kamome.
Floats around the library quietly helping the regulars when he is able. Sometimes you may find a helpful book at your study desk that you didn’t recall taking yourself, or a refill of your ink when you return from your snack break. He likes to help, more often in ways that don't require face-to-face interaction.
Magic info:
Casting method: Waterbending using a pen wand, forming magic blades with long strokes, smaller projectiles with ink splots. Liquid used comes from an inkwell-esque pot he carries all the time, is infused with salt and other ingredients damaging to Wispwood monsters. The liquid can be written with, using the wand which acts like a dip pen.
Magic core: A rod shaped crystal within the wand, made from the bone shaft of a bird creature. It’s naturally hollow and sturdy, making it easy to wield for quick strokes.
Proficiency: Beginner sorcerer, ice (freezing, frozen manipulation spells) and acid (liquid of choice). While he is knowledgeable on paper, he struggles in practice, especially under stressful conditions. He's recently been inspired to switch to sagecraft, how that manifests exactly remains to be seen.
Aesthetic: Frost patterns (feathery and filigree), Pictish patterns (swirls and circles). His magic gives off a light mist with a frosty glitter and sheen.
Monster info:
This creature attacks one’s spirit to completely drain a person of their memories and knowledge, resulting in an irreversible catatonic stupor. Victims become an empty shell and death is a mercy. If it comes across a group it will usually target the oldest person first, as there is more to consume. It will attack back if provoked. It is unable to breach city barriers, and it is generally not a greedy creature. Once it has had its fill it will leave.
Memories and knowledge are drained in order of recency and prominence. Light, indirect attacks drain short term memory, usually of the incident and sometimes even recently acquired knowledge. Deeper attacks will also drain long term memory and strong thoughts the victim has at the time of the attack. Depending on its severity, this can extend to wiping the existence of a person or knowledge from someone’s memory.
Canonically not much is known about this creature, but there are a handful of reported cases of selective amnesia after a visit to the woods. Since the cases are infrequent, it’s interpreted that these attacks don’t happen a lot, or more likely, that most victims don’t survive the encounter.
About Cuan's Amnesia:
As his thoughts at the time of the attack were of his loved ones and the desire to protect himself, Cuan lost all memory of family and close friends, all of his magic classes and related experiences, prior to the age of 15. To him, his life before then was unnaturally solitary and mostly consists of lost time, which he knows is not possible.
His affected memories are now either completely lost, blurry, or misremembered with different people in their place. This resulted in the loss of most traits he developed because of his relationships, most notably his social skills (sudden shift to extreme introvertedness, loss of social graces) and personal preferences (how he dressed, foods he liked, etc). He had to relearn his old identity from those he knew, though ultimately forging a new one.
Recovering socially with his parents was rocky and resembled an adoption situation at first, but smoothed out over the years. He was also able to rekindle varying levels of friendship with his class friends.
Developed sudden and unexplained phobias to cats and needles, when reportedly he was completely fine with them before the incident - has since considered they are related to the thing that attacked him.
Relations
Maera Rahaleigh
A former classmate who was lucky enough to have been playing hooky on the day of the fateful forest excursion. Due to her rougher attitude in her youth Cuan was never that close to her (mildly to her ire), but continued to admire her skills from a distance. As they both grew older and took on library work, they crossed paths more often and he quietly helps her out from time to time.
