Mawi Pepper

Mawi Pepper, the Sigil Witch of Arcania.

Her personality is very calm and composed; her actions are gentle and light. She doesn't talk much, and doesn't look for attention. Mawi is a friendly person, though, it is easy to get her to smile or wave back to you, and if you start conversation, she'll stay.

Most of her time, she stays in her own apartment, or she is in the library doing some nonsense. Mawi's work is unstable at the moment; she places fliers around advertising her services as a Sigil Witch, able to do most odd jobs associated with magic. Her specialty is with the passive alteration magics, involving seals, wards, or other abnormal environment/personal situations involving magic. Because of this, she claims that she is the magical equivalent of a locksmith...

So far, she makes enough from random jobs to afford a decent life in Arcania. But her real purpose of living here isn't to do odd jobs as a Sigil Witch. Rather, she aims to become one of the higher-tier mages working here. Since her dream seems a bit ambitious, Mawi doesn't always feel that it is a possible thing, so another aspiration of hers is to become a professor at a good institution, so she can teach more about the Sigil magic she has researched and mastered.

But even with all of that, right now Mawi is already pretty happy with everything she has.

History
Mawi Pepper probably wasn't her original name. Her parents already told her that she was an adopted child, and that she came from a land far away, "from across the large waters". Both of her parents still live in Adysia, which was where her first memories are from.

When she was still very young, she grew up with her family in Adysia. Her father was still working in a mercenary group, and one day he had to meet a client in Arcania. The client was very generous and paid for all expenses so Mawi and her mother could come along as well.

Mawi fell in love with the city from the very beginning; it was a beautiful place, very graceful and felt a lot more refreshing than the loud and chaotic Adysia. She asked her father why they didn't live in Arcania, and he laughed and told her, "Arcania is a sacred place, only very special people live here".

The client they met turned out to be a professor of a certain magic institution. There was business talk, stuff Mawi didn't care about, but she was very interested about the client. This was because Mawi could feel a powerful energy in his presence, in everything he did... he must be the kind of special people her father was talking about.

She did not know all about what she did, except about "reaching out" to grab the energy. But the client felt the disturbance in his own energy flow and recognized it from the young girl staring at him, and asked Mawi's father if he had ever thought about providing her an education in Arcania.

"She has a bit of talent, actually..."

That was how she found herself in Arcania. Mawi's father fulfilled his client's contract, and the client promised to support her education in his magic institution.

Actually, Mawi's years in the institution were difficult. She rarely had time to see her family, but also was not good at making friends. Some people were scared of her because of her eyes, others just found her awkward and weird.

Her studies in school were okay, she performed well in all classes. Her interest turned towards a special kind of magic, though, the kind of magic that felt most natural to her; passively reaching into the currents around her. A lot of her peers liked the magic that was very obvious, powerful-looking, and very beautiful. Mawi felt that those magic types were wasteful and inefficient. Instead of pushing out your own body's energy to create power, why not just change the flow of the energy that is already out there to do what you want? There was no formal name, so Mawi called it Sigil magic and continued to study this concept in the libraries.

It turns out that the institution only taught the basic types--the wards and seals which protect or restrain objects, locations, or people with kinds of varying effects--only because that was all they were allowed to teach. There were greater levels Mawi discovered by herself, and they were not taught, being labeled as forbidden magic; altering the current of energy in the environment too much can cause disturbances that prove fatal and destructive. Regardless, Mawi maintained a strong determination to learn more about the magic she had so much passion for, and continued to study in secret. She collected all the books she can, paying large amounts of coin to access other sources when the library did not have what she needed... some of the tomes were also illegal. When she finally memorized and mastered the techniques in there, she burned them.

She surprised a lot of people when she did not go to a higher magic institution after her graduation, even though they had offered her a large scholarship. Mawi just said that she had her own independent studies she wanted to pursue, and left the schools, and the possibility of a prestigious career, to start her own life.

Relationships

 * Avianna Coile - An Arcane Cook who is from Adysia. They've only briefly met in passing.
 * Charis Aegle - Freelance doctor and a prominent citizen of Arcania. At the beginning of the war, Mawi and Charis agreed to work together for their mutual benefit, despite thier differences.
 * Corisa Landere (Corie) - Very sweet and shy girl from Arcania. Her preferences may be slightly odd at times, but Mawi quickly warmed up to her. It is also Corie who gave Mawi the moniker "Ruby-chan", referring to her bright-scarlet eyes.
 * Logan Lockearl - A charming knight fromAdysia whom Mawi happened to run into in an Arcanian free market. He bought her services and grossly overpaid her so now she has more money than she knows what to do with. She also finds him a bit cute. Just a bit.
 * Shinrei Amamiya - Self-proclaimed Xanan captain...of something. First impressions not-withstanding, he seems to have found a way to a soft spot in Mawi's heart. Not that it's because of his womanizing skills or anything. He's just a gentleman...
 * Vandel Blitz - Arcane Knight of Adysia. They only met briefly by chance in Arcania. He impressed Mawi with his charisma and his ability to combine both magic and swordplay. As a gift for keeping her company, Mawi gave him an enchanted pendant.

Sigil Magic
See also, Mawi's Skills for information concerning skills used in combat.

Mawi Pepper is a Sigil Witch, and her specialty is not in combat. Comparatively with other witches within her caliber, her general combat spells are not particularly impressive, due to her offensive and defensive options being relatively limited and mediocre. However, her talent lies within her line of work; the Sigils which passively affects Mawi's environment and body allow her to approach any form of combat differently from conventional combat magic.

The most prominent trait of Mawi are the Sigil patterns which mark her body. They appear to be some form of skin art, but their actual presence is embedded and carved throughout her body, not just her skin. The Sigil patterns themselves have a peculiar functionality, although Mawi refuses to go into detail. In her own words, she simply says that they "provide a better channel for my body's magic flow". This may also be the reason why Mawi avoids using magic-enhancing tools or weapons, despite her proficiency. She manipulates all her magic with just her hands.

Sigil magic in nature is also controversial due to several of the unique properties which define it. Use of the magic involves alterations to the natural flow of magic, and such manipulations to the usually untouched currents of energy has the potential for severe consequences.

Almost all types of commonly-practiced magic are cast by channeling the caster's internal energy to the exterior, producing an effect of some sort. These kinds of magic are essentially limited by the strength and capacity of the caster's internal energy, so mages train themselves to improve their own body's internal energy.

With Sigil magic, the caster also taps into their internal energy, but instead of channeling it to the exterior as an effect, the caster "reaches" into the magic currents of their environment, and effectively uses the conglomeration of the environment's energy pool as their own energy. Self-restraint is highly important with such magic; great disturbances in the natural order and magic flow of an environment can lead to a catastrophic collapse of the area's normal existence. In theory, should a Sigil magic user be placed in a location where the ambient flow of magic is dense and concentrated, the magnitude of their abilities would be almost unparalleled, should they choose to absorb it for themselves. At that point, even simple, basic-level spells could be devastating.

The most controversial element of Sigil magic lies in the techniques of "sealing" of another individual's internal magic currents, whether partial or complete. It is possible to use Sigil magic completely render any magic-user completely powerless by disrupting their body's internal currents completely, or even to inflict pain and injury upon a person by forcefully manipulating their own internal energy against them.

It is for these reasons and many others that a large majority of what is considered to be Sigil magic had been recognized as forbidden, banned, and eventually forgotten by the society who live with magic.

Trivia

 * The coloring of her eyes are natural. They do not glow, there are no special powers, it is simply a strange coloring.
 * There are seven dots around the lower rim of her left eye.
 * Throughout her entire body are markings, patterned lines. They are not decorative.
 * While her offensive and defensive magic are technically mediocre, average, and unpracticed, she still enjoys dueling once in a while.
 * Her service is listed as "Mawi, Sigil Witch for hire". A lot of times she gets contacted to do jobs that are not related to magic at all, but she will do it anyways for the money.
 * Her magic does not need a magical weapon to use.

Source

 * http://alucinarae.deviantart.com
 * http://daf-fantasia.deviantart.com