The Bard

❥ Name/Handle: Saria
❥ Contact: Email: SageSaria9475@gmail.com
Plurk: sagesaria
DW account: sagesaria
❥ Over 18?: yes
❥ Other Characters: N/A

❥ Name: Kiwi the Bard
❥ Canon: Wandersong
❥ Canon Point: after act 5
❥ Fandom OC Approval: N/A

❥ History: https://wandersong.fandom.com/wiki/The_Bard
https://lparchive.org/Wandersong/

Kiwi is a bard, born and raised in the industrial city of Chismest. They currently live in a little house on the outskirts of a tiny, quiet village called Langtree. There they have lived a peaceful and uneventful life, until one night they had a strange dream about an angel warning them that the world was soon to end and be replaced by a new one. They didn't remember this dream when they woke up that morning, until they met the angel again in the spirit world where they were sent on an errand by the Langtree mayor. When they asked what they could do about the end of the world, she suggested they talk to the seven Overseers of the world about a magical, spiritual tune called the Earthsong. With the help of a grumpy witch named Miriam, who was also trying to contact the spirit world, they traveled the world, going from nexus point to nexus point to enter the spirit world and collect the pieces of the Earthsong.

The journey went smoothly at first, until they reached the third Overseer. Before they could say a word to her, she was abruptly struck dead. The killer introduced herself as Audrey Redheart, the hero chosen by the goddess Eya to defeat the Overseers, to save the world from their corruption...and ultimately, bring the world to its end. It turned out - directly from the angel's mouth - that Kiwi was never intended to get as far as they did, and the angel only told them about the Earthsong as a way to keep their spirits up. Thankfully, the first Overseer Kiwi spoke with gave them the ability to speak the spirit language, which allowed them to summon the residual energy left by the dead Overseer for her piece of the Earthsong. But the young bard was emotionally destroyed, and went into a dark retreat for several days.

It took prodding from both the guilty angel and Miriam to get them to continue their quest, and it only got more difficult from there. They weren't able to stop the hero from killing the fourth Overseer either, but at least their trend of solving local problems around each Nexus point continued, improving lives while they scrambled to keep up. They started growing closer to Miriam as well, and would eventually even get her to admit that she considered them a friend. Then, their hardest challenge yet came in a land that harbored two warring kingdoms, Rulle and Chaandesh. While staying at an inn on the border between the kingdoms, they met a ghost who asked to borrow the bard's voice for a message that she hoped would end the war. Kiwi and Miriam had to travel to both kingdoms to get everything they needed to enter the spirit world, which benefitted delivering the ghost's message, but Kiwi was far more concerned about the war than the Overseers, and so that was what they prioritized. Unfortunately, the ghost's messages to both kingdoms fell on deaf ears, and so Kiwi had to let the war continue while they spoke with the Overseers.

At least, that was the plan, until they found out that the spirit world was so corrupted from the decay caused by the hero's slaughter, that the Overseers themselves were decaying and losing their essence, and even turning on their own. Kiwi convinced Miriam to assist in helping a few friendly spirits escape, but the witch's reward was a blow from behind by the hero. Kiwi defended Miriam and chastised Audrey, and while they argued, the two Overseers that overlooked the two kingdoms got into a fight themselves, destroying each other. Kiwi collected their pieces of the Earthsong, then carried the wounded Miriam down the mountain looking for help. There, they found the monarchs of the two kingdoms arguing, and they tried one last time to intervene. This time, with the help of a song in the voices of the kingdoms' people, the monarchs finally listened, and considered peace negotiations. It was a short-lived celebration, because Miriam's injuries turned out to be too severe to continue, and so she had to go home while Kiwi continued to the final Overseer.

And there, alone at the base of Mount Ichor, with a heavy heart, a collapsed spirit world, and a monster-ridden mortal world, is where Kiwi stands as they are suddenly brought to the land of Aellyn, where they must now answer another call to save the world.

❥ CRAU?: N/A

❥ Personality: * At a glance, Kiwi exudes a sunny, carefree, even childish disposition. They're always smiling and dancing, and obviously singing, everywhere they go. They'll have a song for just about any occasion, even when it might not be appropriate, and frequently get yelled at (usually by Miriam) for singing too much.

* Besides music, Kiwi's greatest love is humanity. No matter what the situation, their priority is always making other people happy. They're a good listener, and read people well. They put others' needs before their own, and sometimes that means telling someone what they think they want to hear, but it always means being there for support and comfort.

* While they bear no official title, Kiwi has highly heroic morals. They admit repeatedly that they're over their head on this quest to save the world, and yet they persist. They firmly believe that it's important to try, because in a choice between saving the world or letting it die, they believe one always has to choose saving it, even if in the end, it might not work. Furthermore, Kiwi has a slight stubborn streak and a lot of determination when their heart is set on a goal. While they have no destiny - they've checked - they desperately wish they could be a hero, save the world, and make a difference.

* Despite their amiable nature and the fact that they're generally liked, Kiwi is very lonely. Their other relationships tend to not go much further than acquaintance, with very few exceptions. And even with those exceptions, most people who talk to Kiwi don't take them seriously, or they treat them like a child. The first impressions of a silly, carefree bard are hard to beat, and it took their quest to save the world to find any genuine kinship with others, through the deeds they've done to improve people's lives. One of Kiwi's wishes about being a hero is that they prove those who don't believe in them wrong.

* You wanna know the main reason why Kiwi always seems so cheerful? Because that's the only side they ever want people to see. They have their own fears and sadness and generally bad feelings, but they never like to express them to anyone. This could partially be blamed on their mother, who insists on nothing but a smile from them despite how they feel. But it could also be blamed on their desire to please others, thinking that their bad thoughts don't help anyone, so they shouldn't know. This means that Kiwi represses a lot of emotions, stretching beyond their own emotional boundaries to help other people, and the only time they'll ever let their real feelings out is when they've been broken down by serious events such as the official revelation that they're not the hero, or to Miriam.

* Kiwi is pacifist to a fault, uncomfortable with any form of violence, to the point of struggling to even hold a weapon when given the chance, and they will go to extreme lengths not to even step on bugs. As a person who is often overlooked, they always look out for the little guys nobody notices, and shows compassion to all creatures, and all people, even the ones who might not deserve it. They openly disapprove of bullies and people who abuse their power to hurt others.

* Kiwi takes a lot of joy in the little things, and is fairly enthusiastic and excitable. They love animals, even bugs, they envy Miriam's magic powers (even if they think her use of them is rather violent) and were elated to learn how to use a little magic of their own in Chaandesh, and they're fascinated with pirates.

* The one person who appears to bring out any darkness in Kiwi is the hero, Audrey. The first time they met, when Audrey taunted them about their profession after the angel's confession, they charged her with the intent to attack. They have gone on record to resent her stance on killing Overseers, and even seem slightly afraid of her, not wanting to speak to her ever again after their first encounter, even when she was the only way to get an audience with the King of Rulle. But they also express a lot of jealousy at the fact that she's the hero, which likely partially prompted their attempt to attack her. They are their angriest, however, after Audrey attacked Miriam, saying that the fact that they were breaking the rules (by letting beings out of the spirit world) was no reason to hurt her.

* Kiwi gives an impression of being highly noncommittal about their identity outside of being a bard. While not explicitly stated in canon, Wandersong's developer has confirmed that Kiwi is nonbinary, but also that any pronouns are okay with them. Miriam is the only character who ever calls them by their name, and they have been given a nickname by almost every other person they've ever met, which they will unquestioningly respond to. For that matter, they only told Miriam their name after they were asked. When a neighbor in Langtree asked about their age, the player is given a variety of options, none of them giving a definite answer. Whether this is because Kiwi is embarrassed about their age, or simply because they can't remember, or any other potential reason, is never explained.

* For the love of Eya, Ainea, and all other deities, do not give Kiwi caffeine. Ever. They are on a strict coffee ban. Don't do it.

* Headcanon: Kiwi feels extremely anxious during thunderstorms, because it reminds them of the hero and her ability to shoot lightning from her sword, and the traumatic experience of both being hit by it, and watching Miriam getting hit by it.

❥ Abilities: * Kiwi was blessed with the language of the spirit world, which allows them to understand the Overseers of their home world, as well as ghosts. To those who don't understand the language, it's interpreted as a series of colorful shapes. Don't ask how one speak shapes, that's just how it works.

* As a bard, all of Kiwi's abilities are related to singing, and canonically, music is an ancient form of magic. Singing has done a variety of things in the game, including:

> Attracting woodland creatures and instructing them on simple tasks
> Changing the color of flowers, lights, and other small objects.
> Opening the nexus points into the spirit world
> Changing the direction of the wind, in order to blow away clouds, push fairly light objects, or playing large musical instruments such as the Wind Queen's organ.
> Deflecting magical or spiritual attacks as a shield
> Communicating with the dead
> Manipulating puzzles in the spirit world, including changing speed or direction of time on a clock or causing plants to grown in a specific way
> Manipulating ancient mermaid technology, made up of stone that reacted to song
> Scaring away monsters from the spirit world
> Enhancing someone's magical abilities, such as focusing a fortuneteller's reading or powering up a witch's energy blast
> Manipulating crystals in Chaandesh in order to bounce on, stick to, or pass through various platforms
> Healing a monster who was paralyzed by the hero's attack (after receiving a piece of the Earthsong)
> Singing with the voices of two kingdoms' people (after receiving 5/7 pieces of the Earthsong, the last two might have been relevant to why this happened)

❥ Extras: Would you like your characters abilities nerfed? What would you like them to lose or how will it be cut down?: Maybe just no more outbursts with the voices of a few dozen people, otherwise I'll leave it to the mods whether singing is OP
Did your character bring anything along (limit 3 items) with them?:
Which god will they choose to support? Or do you wish to be randomized?: Ainea