Daliah Sapphire Crinaeae

[Daliah]

Name: Daliah Sapphire Crinaeae
Age: Unknown
Gender: Female
Species: Demi-Goddess/Nymph
Sign: Spurca
Occupation: Goddess of the Mystic Realm

Appearance: Due to her fondness over shape shifting, Daliah's general appearance can change on a whim. When in a humanoid shape she is usually the same general size, small and petite, almost pixie like in appearance. Much shorter than the average goddess, she appears almost child like. Her natural hair color is a bright red, inherited from her father, Kuja. Normally she will wear it long and black with red highlights. Any assorted hairstyle can be seen on a daily bases, and it is rare to see her without some form of hair adornment, from gems, bells and chimes braided in her hair to full crowns and head dresses. Her eyes are naturally a bright green, commonly associated with her nymph background. Her current favorite shade to wear is a cheerful lilac, though her eye color is known to change with her moods or even clothing. Everything she wears is hand tailored by the castle seamstress. Bright colors are a must, with soft fabrics ranging from sheer to thick fur. Her most common accessories are gems and silver chains, trailing from cuffs on her arms and ankles, to tied around her throat. Ever present is a simply silver ring, which belonged to her mother before her death.

- weapons - While Daliah is not a fighter by nature, she has been trained in basic self-defense and offensive attacks. Her strength mostly relies on her magic, but if unable to use said magic, Daliah prefers using an attackers momentum against them, or her own speed. Commonly found on her person at any given time: a simply dagger, poisonous darts hidden in her hair or under her clothing, and a basic staff. Sometimes Daliah will carry a bow, cross bow, and assorted arrows, as her marksmanship has grown impressively since her childhood.

Abilities: Shape shifting, be it little things from hair color and nose size, to complete transformations; Summoning lesser gods and spirits; Basic healing; Basic elemental control, and advanced air and illusion control
Weaknesses: Short attention span, coupled with terrible short-term memory; Inability to concentrate for long periods of time

Personality: Cheerful to a flaw, and with the basic principle of never judging a book by its cover; can be very thoughtful, but rarely executes such actions
Likes: Mostly her family and friends, especially her daughters; Her kingdom, and the people who reside there; Sweets and teas, most soups, vegetables, fruits, and food in general
Dislikes: Her past, with the exception of the years she spent with the goddess Kri; Anyone who lets other think for them; Fighting in general, especially over trivial topics


Picture:

[Daliah]

History:
For years Kuja Crius was known through out the land as the "playboy" of the gods. He was young, and most defiantly handsome, which lead to conquest after conquest. Great chaos stirred the four times he announced his plans to wed, and though each wedding was an incomparable celebration the god would once again be deemed single by the end of the five day feasting. None would believe the day that Kuja renounced his ways to settle down with a single mate, until he meet Lady Dutra Lampades, a nymph princess. Unlike the rest of her race, Dutra had renounced men, holding great bitterness over her own father, a wandering king who bedded her mother and fled the next morn. Still, Kuja refused to believe that a woman would not want to be with him, and for months he attempted to court the reluctant nymph. Over time Dutra's general dislike turned to shy admiration and eventually affection. Kuja, meanwhile, refused the advances of other maidens, claiming his eyes were for Dutra alone.

An amazing year and a half later Dutra finally gave in, allowing Kuja to actively court her. It took another year before Dutra agreed to marry Kuja, and in harsh contrast to his previous behavior Kuja made sure it was a small ceremony hosting only close friends and family. It was the end of an era in the minds of countless gods. Within a few months the once renowned playboy was cheerfully celebrating his wife's pregnancy with their first child.

Daliah Sapphire was born with a full head of bright red hair and pale green eyes. Neither feature shocked her parents. Overjoyed at the thought of being a good father for his newborn, Kuja soon took his birthright, the Mystic Realm, ruling in place for his ailing father. Along with his wife and child, Kuja became a fair ruler and very well liked among the people.

Peace continued among the Crinaeae family for many years. Dutra was a wonderful mother, and Kuja was happy to teach his daughter about her growing powers. Taking after her father, Daliah's first trick was changing her shape, something that worried her mother greatly. Dutra feared that if her daughter could not be happy with her birth form, other self-conscious acts would follow. Kuja, however, brushed his wife's worries aside, claiming that Daliah was merely learning more about her powers.

It is often said that calm comes before a storm, and for Daliah this was certainly true. Not long before her seventh birthday her mother fell ill. For months she battled her ailment, slowly dying before her husband and daughter. Slowly Kuja began to reject his daughter's attempts at comforting him, instead devoting all his time and energy to his beloved wife. Confused by her father's actions, Daliah retreated to her own room, where she could play with her dolls who actually wanted her around. She soon learned to control the dolls, making them dance with her and tell her stories. The servants around the castle soon noticed how taken little Daliah was with dolls and toys. Their observation, mixed with the sorrow she must be feeling over her mother's impending death, soon lead to many gifts, featuring toys of all shapes and sizes. Daliah's room became a storehouse of toys, and a safe heaven for the little girl.

As summer fell and autumn rose Dutra gave her last breath, leaving behind her husband and daughter. For weeks all the palace and realm wore black to grieve the queen's death, and for months afterwards Kuja wore the color almost religiously. Many gods would secretly joke that he would soon return to his previous ways, but instead Kuja remained a mourning husband. Daliah, who still could not understand why her mother was gone, or why her father no longer looked towards her lovingly like before, simply spent more time in her room, asking her toys if they knew where her mother had gone.

Eventually, one day in early spring, Kuja simply disappeared from his land. No one could quite recall when he left, but they all knew it was within the first week of new life among the land. Daliah, still a child even for a demi-goddess, was named heir to the mystic realm, and was soon immersed in training for such a role. Childish games were pushed aside in favor of tomes to encourage the growth of a wise ruler. Daliah's magic grew exceptionally during this time, but her instructor's congratulations where not as meaningful as her father's once were.

At age twelve Daliah decided to visit the grave of her mother, hidden within the nymph's homeland. Her instructors discouraged such a journey, but Daliah was insistent. She wanted to pay her respect to her mother, and no one could disagree that the girl had logic as well as the right. So, leaving her mentor in charge for a short while Daliah headed forward, searching for the grave she'd only visited once, years ago. Most of the trip Daliah simply turned herself into a large dog, racing along merrily and behaving like a child should. She hated her lessons and being strict and proper. It was so boring. But on her journey, away from her mentor, Daliah could be young again.

The trip took two weeks, but finally Daliah arrived before her mother's grave. It was not as she had remembered it. Vines had grown randomly along the stone statue her father had built, and the grass was tall and unkempt. Still, that didn't mean it wasn't a nice place. Located near the nymph's rivers, the ground was moist and foggy. Changing into her normal shape, Daliah slipped forward, flowers in hand like she'd seen the many mourners give after her mother first passed away. Only inches from the tomb the young goddess smiled. "Hello Mother---" Cut away from her greeting, Daliah stumbled forward. Flower fell from her lax grasp and the hand reached up to clench her bleeding shoulder. Wide eyes turned toward her attacker, and with a sad cry the girl say her father standing before her with a bloody blade.

The battle was quick, but within minutes Daliah learned on thing that she would never forget. Her father was gone. In his place stood a man destroyed by the loss of his loved one. Where Kuja once existed, now stood a man determined to protect a grave from everyone. Including his own daughter. Unable to actually defeat her father, Daliah turned into a butterfly, fleeing quickly and trying to ignore the intense pain trailing along her body. There was no way of knowing how long she flew, trying to forget the image of her father's sword covered with her own blood, but eventually Daliah found herself hovering over a garden with fish ponds, flowers, and trees. A perfect place to rest.

In a forgetful moment Daliah wadded above the fishpond, oblivious to how tasty she must look to the creatures below. A quick pluck at her wings and the little butterfly found herself staring at narrowed eyes. "What a stupid creature." The eyes hissed, and Daliah realized they were speaking about her. "You were about to be eaten, moron." Of course, looking back Daliah could see the fish just below the water's surface, waiting to snap up and eat her. That meant the narrowed eyes had saved her life. Thanks were obviously in order. Turning back to her normal form Daliah launched forward, clinging tightly to the form of a woman. "Thank you for saving me." She squealed before her wounds got hold of her, knocking her unconscious.

Upon awakening Daliah found herself in a modest room, all wounds bandaged and food sitting beside her temporary bed. The woman, her savior, was growling from behind a book no far away. After a slightly awkward conversation Daliah learned she was in the infamous library of the demi-goddess Kri, a cat goddess who preferred her books to, well, just about everything else. Still, the young queen was thankful to the other woman, and made it her duty to befriend the bitter cat. She decided to stayed in the library in order to properly heal from the wounds her father had given her and, mostly, act like a child once more. While she could still sip tea like royalty, Daliah preferred slurping her soup and eating with her hands. While she still knew every law ever passed in her own realm and most others, Daliah preferred walking just inches away from illegal with most of her actions. While she still knew the proper protocol for greeting another person of high rank, Daliah preferred to hug onto Kri tightly until the other goddess either pushed her aside or simply ignored her.

What was only suppose to be a week turned into a month, and from there many months, until a year, then two years, and finally five years passed. Daliah soon became such a permanent fixture in the library few people questioned her anymore. Visitors to the building would smile respectfully at the goddess Kri, and giggle at the antics of the child goddess Daliah. Even the bitter cat goddess was starting to enjoy the young girl's company, though she'd never admit it aloud.

After six years, five months, a week, and two days Daliah awoke to shouts of reverence and anger. Looking out from under her pile of covers, for Kri liked to keep the library wickedly cold, Daliah spotted her mentor and a large group of Mystic Realm solders. From the yelling between her mentor and her host, Kri, Daliah learned that they had thought she was dead and now wanted her to return home to her rightful place as Queen of the Mystic Realm. Kri, on the other hand, had no idea why a group of armed men where in her library trying to take her friend---no, guest, away by force. The argument was loud and went on for quite a while before Daliah, who had developed a large headache since waking up, announced that the men were in their right to find her but were performing a crime by breaking into a goddess' domain with weapons and should apologize before finding themselves at the receiving end of Kri's wrath. The guards quickly apologized, followed soon by Daliah's mentor. Kri, however, was not completely satisfied. She wanted answers, and soon.

After a calming cup of tea, Daliah confessed to her friend that she was the ruler of the Mystic realm, and told both parties why she had been missing from her kingdom and staying in Kri's library for so long. The issue resolved itself with sickeningly fast speed, and before dawn the guards had left to return to the Mystic realm. Daliah's mentor followed them, though not before informing Daliah that she was expected back soon. Kri and Daliah, meanwhile, simply returned to bed for a few more hours of much needed sleep.

Eventually Daliah gave in to the constant nagging of her mentor, who returned to Kri's library daily to remind the young goddess of her duties. With a heavy heart she returned to her throne, watching over the daily business of her land and people. After so much time being her cheerful self, Daliah was saddened at the thought of becoming a proper young queen. She was shocked with her people announced their love for the childish goddess. They claimed her joy was infectious, and soon the Mystic realm hosted the most cheerful residents.

Daliah never claimed to lead an interesting life. Days passed with mild adventures, ranging from being chased down after a misunderstanding with the police of another realm and battling to save the world after the destruction of Kri's great library. Still, it eventually came to pass that Daliah, in her eternal boredom, managed to come across an ancient spell book. Reading over the tomes, Daliah found a spell, which would gather the spirits of the dead. With little else to do, the goddess set about hunting down all she needed, and under a full moon she preformed the most ancient spell.

And messed up. Instead of simply gathering the souls, she instead incarnated them into flesh, impregnating herself with the souls of the dead. Lying to her council, Daliah came up with a great tale of finding a book, which would hunt down her soul mate and create the greatest heir the Mystic realm would ever know. She claimed that the spell messed up, impregnating her instead, but none cared if it meant an heir would be born. For months she was carefully monitored, with health food presented to her in regular shifts and doctors hovering around her like flies to a carcass. The day for her birthing arrived, and after twenty hours in labor Daliah gave birth to her heir, a small girl. Then, not five minutes later she returned to labor, giving birth to identical baby girls. The first hosted bright silver-blonde hair and wise teal-baby blue eyes. The second had dark black-blue hair and hardened gray-teal eyes. They were exact opposites in every sense. Instantly Daliah knew they were the incarnated spirits, but that left the question of whom the first baby was.

The first girl, who had bright red hair and green eyes, a mirror image of Daliah's true form, was named Sky Rae Crinaeae and heir to the Mystic realm. The silver-blonde baby was named Vesta Priapus Crinaeae, goddess of joyful spirits. The black-blue baby was named Dis Manges Crinaeae, goddess of bitter spirits. Daliah, after all, soon learned that her twin daughters were the incarnations of spirits who had either died happily, or in rage. She did not hold their origins against them, instead loving the twins for their place as her child, not as incarnations of the dead. Sky, however, was the mystery.

Continuing her research, the queen soon learned her eldest daughter was from a backlash of energy, an identical clone to the goddess herself. Instead of letting the knowlage somehow corrupt her love, Daliah raised her as her daughter only, refusing to tell any, save Kri and her closest companions, the true origins of her three beautiful daughters.

Years passed, with Sky growing into a beautiful, and crafty princess. Her younger sisters, equally lovely, but mostly sly, began to show their goddess heritage soon. Only Sky could not preform the magic her family was so famed for, something that worried Daliah more than she cared to announce. No worries were final, however, for if Sky did not show magical protential, at least she was a genius, fit for the throne. And in the end, all Daliah really cared about was her daughters' happiness with their lives. That was all that mattered.