Arlana Ethne Caswallan - The Tarot Seeker

• Name: Arlana Ethne Caswallan - Lana
• Gender: Female
• Race: Human
• Birthday: 22 of november
• Age: 17
• Height: 159 cm
• Weight: 55 KG
• Hair: Red
• Eyes: Blue
• Origin of power: Magic
• Birthplace: Ireland
• Orientation: Heterosexual

Backstory

Arlana is the only daughter of Liam Caswallan, an Irish of great wealth and a huge line of ancestors that go long way back in time, and heir to the Caswallan fortune. Arlana's mother, Gwen, died giving birth to her so Arlana was raised by her father alone and the servants that took care of the enormous mansion and it's surroundings.

Gwen's death was a hard hit for Liam who was deeply in love with her and he fell in deep depration over his lost love. A few days later one of the family's gardeners, an old lady that had been working there long before Liam was born, approached her master and told him that there was a way to bring back his wife. That's how Liam learned about the original Tarot Deck and it's legend. It was said that the Deck was created by Thoth, the egyptian god of writing and knowledge, as a gift to great Pharaohs and when they fell, the cards were spread around the world so that they couldn't fall in the wrong hands because, asthe legend told, whoever held all 22 cards would have the power to make any wish come true. Overwhelmed by pain, Liam belived the old lady and decided to look for the legendary Deck. The day after that talk, the old servant dissapared.

As she grew, Arlana noticed that his father got distant and didn't play with her anymore. He just locked himself on his study and remaind there for days, even weeks. As a child, Liam's daughter didn't have many friends. She was tutored by one of her servants and she never went to any big cities because her father wouldn't allow it, fearing that something may happen to her. So Arlana spent most of her time with the house's servants and grew to be humble and caring about those around her. Altough her father wasn't a lot with her, she really did love him and every moment she spent with him.

Time passed and Liam grew even more obsessed with finding the way to revive Gwen, consuming himself with the desire of bringing her back. He remained more and more on his study doing research and using his family's wealth to search for any lead to the cards. His breakthrogh came when Arlana celebrated her 17th birthday. One of the archaeological expeditions he put together was diging in some ruins in the middle of the desert and ancient book about the cards, the Book of Thoth, and had a card inside it. Filled with excitment, Liam grabbed the book as soon as it arrived and run to his study to analize the findings, without noticing that her daughter was having her birthday.

Arlana can't remember the start of the day very well, but how it ended would be seared in her mind for the rest of her life.

She was about to blow the candles when it happend. A massive explosion shook the house foundations and before anyone could realize what happend, the mansion was engulfed in flames. As she stared horrified as her servants flee the house in panic, Arlana realized that the explosion came from his father's study and rushed towards it bravely running through the golden flames.
When she went into the study, she found Liam lying in the floor covered in blood desperatly trying to reach for the Book of Thoth and the Card. Arlana tried to to help his father out of the hous but he knew he was already out of time. In tears, Liam explained everything he knew about the Cards to his daughter and with his last breath wished her a happy birthday. Crying like a little girl, Arlana grabbed the Book and the Card and run away from his father.

Somehow Arlana made it out of that burning hell that was her house before it collapsed on itself and there she vowed to fulfill his father's mission. Without no place to go, Arlana started wandering around, looking for clues about the legendary Deck to bring back her parents and live a normal life.

After the incident, Arlana was able to summon (using the Book of Toth as a guide) the card his father was so obsessed with: The Sun. Materializing as a small sparrow made of shining gold fire, Sun explained the basics of the complicated magic that was the Tarot and the Path of the Fool. With him, another card appeared. The Fool appeared out of thin air as Arlana summoned Sun, but no matter what she did or said the card didn't do anything and remained silent.

And although Arlana didn't know, the Fool symbolizes a new beggining. And this card marked the start of her journey into the mysterious Hidden World and the first step she took in the Path of the Fool.

Appearence

Arlana isn't thin like a model, but not as fat as she thinks when she looks in the mirror. She's for all intents and purposes a regular girl. The only features she really adores about herself are her big blue, vibrant eyes and her hair. A gift from her late mother's heritage, Arlana's hair is a beautiful crimson mane that reaches her shoulder in perfect curls and shines like a flame under the sun. Even though she looks somewhat sloppy from time to time, Arlana always treats her hair with the outmost affection.

Not very fond of dresses and skirts (mostly because of her insecurities about her body), Arlana prefers comfortable to elegant, although her economic situation doesn’t give her a lot of options. She usually wears a pair of worn out jeans, a t-shirt or shirt and a hoodie if it’s too cold, like one of her favorites, a black and white hoodie with small ears on the hood that make her feel like a puffy panda.

Personality

Kind, cheerful and dumb. Those three columns summarize Arlana.
 
She'll always help those in need, even if she can't do it and treat everyone with respect. Always with a smile on her face, despite everything that she experienced, Arlana will always try to see the good side of things even in the darkest of times. She'll laugh at even the lamest jokes and be there for you when you need her the most, no matter what. She's really open and will talk about any topic without much problem.

But she isn't the smartest duck in the pond. Never going to a big city or very far of your house alone and not paying attention to your tutor isn't the best of combinations. She gets amused by the simplest of things, gets lost with ease, lack basic survival skills like cooking and those sort of things.  Although she seems goofy and kind of dumb, Arlana is really brave and will stand her ground if needed.
The only thing that shows her past is her paralyzing hemophobia which has it's roots in the image of his father soaked in blood in the floor of his study.


Minor Arcana

The Minor Arcana is your common deck of cards. They are fifty-six cards divided in four suits: Wands, Pentacles, Chalices and Swords

Each suit consists of fourteen cards going from the Ace (1) all the way to the Maid (11), Knight (12), Queen (13) and King (14). From numbers 1 to 10, Arlana can summon them as weapons which she can control and have minor control of the element that they represent. As the number goes up, the number of available weapons goes up too, but their individual power decrease. For example, if Arlana summons the 9 of Wands she will have 9 wands that can attack separately. Each one of those wands will be weaker than the Ace of wands, that's channel all the power in one. Everytime she summons a card from the Minor Arcana, it "consumes" that card she used.

For numbers 11 to 14, things get a little more complicated. Arlana can summon armors that will fight with her or for her. This depends in the user's sexual orientation. Arlana, being a heterosexual woman, can fuse with the "male" cards (the Knight and the King) and can summon the "Female" to fight by her side (the Maid and the Queen). The Knight and the Maid are more agile and fast, on the other hand the King and the Queen are more suited for heavy combat.

Arlana can use any regular deck of cards to summon the Minor Arcana, with the right words which change depending on each suit and card:

• Wands: “Creativity of the Peasentry, will of fire! Come, XX of Wands!” The wands appear as long and worn out wooden staffs that remind of those wielded by powerful wizards of legends and stories like Merlin and Gandalf. Incredibly powerful at long range but fragile and useless in close combat, the Wands are the most offensive suit.
• Pentacles: “Possesion of the Merchants, body of Earth! Come,  XX of Pentacles!” The Pentacles appear as large and golden coins made from a translucent energy that holds the lines of a pentagram, as if it was trapped inside glass. Being Arlana’s weapon of choice because of their harmless nature, the Tarot Apprentice knows a couple more tricks with them than with the other suits. Arlana can make them bigger or smaller at will, which exponentially decrease or increase their hardness and has better control over them. Due to their extraordinary defensive capabilities but almost inexistent offensive ones, the Pentacles are the best shields the Minor Arcana can offer.
• Chalices: “Love of the Clergy, emotion of Water. Come,  XX of Chalices” The Chalices or cups appear well… as cups! Virtually useless in a fight, the Chalices can offer an endless supply of healing water. As Arlana’s powers are still weak, this magical water only sooths pain and make wounds heal faster.
• Swords: “Reason of the nobles, power of Wind. Come, XX of Spades” The Swords appear as old and heavy medieval longswords, like those of statues and sanctuaries of ancient heroes. Dangerous, strong and capable of sending razor sharp waves of wind at enemies, the Swords are the most balanced of the Minor Arcana.

As a side note, the appearance of the different suits depend on Arlana’s idea of those objects and can change if her idea of it change too. Wands look like and old wizard’s staff because she read a lot of fantasy novels when she was younger; Swords look like one of the Swords hanging on top of the fireplace on her father’s study; Chalices look like rustic cups like the one appearing in a certain Indiana Jones’ movie. Pentacles are the only exception, as Arlana didn't have any preconcieve idea of what a Pentacle would look like.

Mayor Arcana

The Mayor Arcana is the legendary Deck of Tarot Cards, created by the Egyptian God of Writing Toth, that grants incredible power to the one that follows the Path of the Fool. There are 22 of these cards and each one is unique, scattered around the world and only reveal their true form to a Tarot Seeker.

• The Fool (0): The Fool is one of the two Cards Arlana's father discovered on his studies, along with The Sun. Although Arlana had tried, the Card has not reacted to her yet.
  
• The Magician (1): The Magician (or Cian, as Arlana calls him) is the first and oldest of the Mayor Arcanca, created first by Toth. Avid of knowledge and with an incredible understanding of the physical world, Cian is in a constant search of information. He appeared to Arlana as a small fluffy mouse, of the ochre color of old book pages, and big round ears. With thick circular glasses and a long green and white scarf, inscribed with golden runes, and a thick british accent, Cian is an important asset to Arlana's quest. Arlana found him the prestigious Gateway Academy.
  
• The Sun (19): The Sun is the first card Arlana was able to summon and was her guide through her first months as a Tarot apprentice. He materializes as a small sparrow, of bright golden flames, with one hell of an attitude.