Created For:

Mooncrest Academy (on Discord)

Character:

Witch/Eldest Copernicus Child

Full Name:

Dianora Elise Copernicus

Nickname:

Dia

Age:

Twenty-One

Gender:

Female

Sexual Orientation:

Bisexual

Pronouns:

She/Her

Appearance/Faceclaim:

Kiersey Clemons

Backstory:

Born the eldest child of the royal family of Ascon, Dianora always expected she would be the heir apparent to the Kingdom, and would one day rise to the same heights of power and responsibility that her father occupied. She thought that the word "Princess" meant she held some position of power in the twilight-bathed land, until she was old enough to understand that no matter how well-behaved and loved she was, she would never be her father's successor, or his favourite. Women simply didn't rule.

Instead, her younger brother was groomed as the Prince and heir, and Dianora was quickly left in the shadows. While her brother was often the recipient of her family's brand of "tough love" and struggled under the weight of pleasing her family and the kingdom at such an early age, Dianora seethed silently in the background, believing any attention was good attention. In her younger years, she believed that success would win approval and the attention freely bestowed upon the Prince--if only she could outshine him in every way, she would be the one considered worthy of the future she always felt belonged to her.

Eventually, she came to the realisation that this would never be true, and it would have pleased her father better if she were an agreeable, beautiful, and less opinionated girl who would one day have noble men fighting for her hand in marriage. Dianora understood she didn't want to be a Princess, she wanted to be the Prince---and one day, the Queen---in a land that had never seen one.

While she didn't have a traumatic childhood, Dianora's upbringing wasn't one where love and encouragement were freely given, and she followed her father's example of never accepting anything less than perfection. Though she has an emotional side, she considers emotion to be a weakness, something she can never show to others, lest they think less of her character or capability. Dianora has never been in love, and sometimes questions whether or not she is able to feel that level of vulnerability, even towards life-long friends or family.

At the age of 21, she still struggles to let go of her impossible ambition, and turn her head toward a more realistic future. However, her temperament and talents make her well-suited to lead a nation instead of a family, and find solace in books instead of society. She is not looking toward a future as a wife and mother, and knowing that tradition eclipses talent, she will never have a voice in kingdom politics. Dianora feels lost, misplaced, and unsure of the future.

Personality:

Dianora is an intelligent, ambitious, self-assured, responsible, and even charismatic young woman, although she seems to reserve her playful and charming side for those whom she feels some affinity--and she's not shy about the fact that the category doesn't include everyone. She chooses friendships, love interests, and even enemies wisely, always thinking as much with her head as with her heart. If something or someone doesn't necessarily make sense in her life, she doesn't have room for it, no matter how interesting a distraction it may be. She is ultimately frightened of vulnerability, or any emotion that will weaken her, or allow others to take advantage of her. She sees kind, trusting people as fools and targets, and is almost instinctively annoyed by those who are people-pleasers and display unrestrained emotion.

Like the other members of her family, Dianora is a perfectionist and tends to be a harsh judge of character---both hers, and everyone else's. She is the most like her father, a very disciplined man who seemed impossible to please, although the character traits he so wanted in a son always went unnoticed in his eldest daughter. Dianora is extremely hurt and bitter about this, and while her brother always took the brunt of her father's controlling ways and unreasonable expectations, she was envious of the attention and still is.

Dianora can be arrogant and prideful, thinking herself to be more intelligent, capable, and insightful than her siblings--and most around her. Although she tries to keep these opinions to herself, as she knows they don't win friends or respect, she sometimes can't help but show her true colours. While others are intimidated by her, Dianora is a terribly insecure person who grew up just wanting to be noticed, loved, and given approval, and feels that success is the only path to that. Yet, even her greatest successes leave her feeling overlooked and unacknowledged.

Dianora is in the final stretch of her schooling at the Academy, and her greatest fear is the future. While always composed and self-assured about everything in her life, she doesn't know what she's meant to do with the rest of it. The fact that her younger brother is expected to rule her family's dynasty in the future makes her deeply resentful, but also fearful, since it means he might one day have some control over her future--or her sister's.

She is resentful of her parents, keeps her elder brother at arm's length, and is protective of her younger sister, though she doesn't usually display this until necessary. Dianora is the type who finds it difficult to open up and connect with other people on any meaningful level, but once she does, she is one of the most loyal friends and allies that a person could have.

Abilities (and their limitations):

Shadowform/Shadow Manipulation. Dianora is able to take the form of a black shadow, her spirit without any physical form. In this form, she is able to pass through objects, lurk places without being detected, and generally traverse the world without the inconvenience of a body. The herb sage, as well as magic wards and barriers, will prevent her from entering a place in Shadowform. She cannot enter holy or consecrated lands without feeling ill-at-ease. mentally or physically.

In addition to crafting her own physical form from the shadows, Dianora also has the gift of manipulating the essence of shadows to form objects.  She can use shadows to obfuscate or create illusions, though it wears away at her magical energy. It is a talent that she's always working on, being both a powerful and inconsistent gift.

Spirit Guardian. Dianora considers herself a guardian of the spirit world, seeing the world of the dead as clearly as she sees those in her daily life. Rather than being dark or frightening, Dianora has always taken comfort in this world that is accessible to her, and feels emotionally attached to the beings she meets on the other side of the veil. When in a state similar to hypnosis, Dianora is able to communicate with the dead, gain information, and allow the departed to find the closure many seek from their time on Earth. However, she isn't able to pull anyone or anything through the veil of the Spirit Realm, or raise the dead. It is a frustratingly impenetrable curtain.

A talent Dianora has no idea she possesses, she is able to prevent a dying or recently deceased person from passing across the veil into the Spirit Realm. The price of this is great, as it requires a sacrifice of her magical energy---as well as sacrifices from those who may be present. Once someone has been dead more than 24 hours, this ritual no longer works. In order to discover this skill, Dianora needs to acknowledge the side of herself that she's never integrated into her personality---the one that makes her a compassionate healer, protector, and capable of putting love above ambition or resentment.

Dark Wards. Although she doesn't quite know it yet, Dianora is a natural-born protector. Although she believes that strength lies in being assertive and fighting to be someone worthy of recognition, her magical talents reveal her true nature. The best offense is a good defense, and Dianora has the power of the spirit world on her side. She is able to create wards, boundaries, barriers, and use dark energy to protect herself and those she loves. These wards are not always effective against those capable of using light as a weapon, and sadly, "light" is not always synonymous with "good".

Likes: Books, nature, music, dark colours, riding horses, serious conversations, thoughtful people, chocolate

Dislikes: Displays of emotion, frivolous and insubstantial things, the colour yellow, inauthenticity, people-pleasers

Fun Facts: Like many of the names I give my characters, Dianora has a particular backstory to it. Eleonora de' Medici gave birth to three girls who died under strange circumstances in the mid-1500's: Margaret, Isabella, and Lucrezia. Her son, Pietro, was married to his cousin Eleonora, whom everyone nicknamed Dianora. Margaret died of scarlet fever shortly before her wedding, but Isabella and Lucrezia both died of "natural causes" that raised a great deal of suspicion that pointed to their husbands as murderers. Pietro de' Medici, who had a reputation for being violent and almost sadistic, strangled Dianora in her bed with a dog leash after hearing rumours of her infidelity.

None of the husbands of the de' Medici women were ever brought to justice, which led people to believe the murders were given the green light by the ruling patriarch. While everyone knows the saga of the Tudor wives and mistresses, the story of the equally unfortunate de' Medici girls is more obscure.