Nyssa Brightfeather (\nɪ'sːɐ\ or (Ni-ssa))
Nyssa Oaklight- Brightfeather (a.k.a. The Unsung Wren)
Nyssa Brightfeather is a Gnome Bard with unknown affiliations. Nyssa was one of many invitees to High King Thorgrim's banquet, and she prides herself as a reliable and trustworthy informant. Her motives and intents are unclear, but most would say her information is reliable and often leads to something rather than nothing. She also does not give out information that might put one in harm's way, which some would say is antithema to her usual perogative.
Nyssa has a cheerful disposition and friendly demeanor, preferring to make allies than enemies. To those she has sold information to, she is known for her knack for finding even the most obscure information. For those who've only heard rumors, she might seem like she is just another underground info broker with ulterior motives. The truth is not known, and Nyssa intends to keep it that way. To her, the more her clients know her backstory, the more they have to blackmail her over. It is this way of thinking that has allowed her to survive the cutthroat underworld.
She is sly and cunning, but her acts of deception or trickery are nearly never discovered; this has led to people calling her the "Unseen Wren", as she is capable of discovering and providing information under the notice of others. People treat her like a Wren bird because, for such a small person, her information is loud and attracts a lot of attention, even if most do not know her role in certain conflicts. Despite her infamous reputation, Nyssa continues to act, whether it be in good faith, or simply to watch the world burn in silence.
Nyssa stands at a meager 3'7", though for forest gnomes like her, she is on the taller side. She tends not to give out her age, but reliable sources point to her being 34 years old, which is considered to be a young adult to other gnomes. She has blonde hair that, when loose, falls to her mid-back, but she typically keeps it tied up in a ponytail with either red or green hair ties. She normally dresses in a green, padded tunic with black shorts, a brown leather bag, and tall leather caligae. Her preferred weapon of choice is either a short bow or rapier, but when needed, she uses her instruments to cast spells in combat. Nyssa typically uses a flute in these situations due to their ease of use and portability, but she is also seen using a lute or lyre.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Nyssa is petite, though for a gnome, she is on the taller side. Being an infobroker, she is fit and ahtletic from her time traversing many types of terrain, and she is experienced in dealing with many kinds of climates, too. She is a bit underweight, but otherwise healthy.
Body Features
Nyssa has a
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large scar down her right side, starting from the chest and ending just past the hips.
Facial Features
Nyssa has a cute, rounded face with long elf-like ears and a small nose. Her face is free of blemishes and she uses a small amount of make-up to enhance her natural cuteness as a way to increase her charisma.
Apparel & Accessories
Nyssa's typical attire is a green tunic with a darker green shawl over, leather gloves for archer, and black shorts. During the warmer months, she wears leather sandals that are laced up to her thighs, while she wears fur boots and black leggings with a white jacket during the colder months. Nyssa usually keeps her hair in a ponytail, but when its cold, she lets down her hair.
Specialized Equipment
Nyssa has several instruments with her. Her favorite instrument is the 7th Century-keyed wooden flute that she has with her at all times. She likes the soft timbre that it has over current flute models, and it's light enough that it isn't a hassle to play. As for her lute, she has several standard lutes at home, but the one plays more often than the others is the Vers Tannick III 6c Lute, a standard lute for Gnomes from Liyonne. It's made with oak wood and is usually fitted with bronze fittings.
Nyssa has many lyres she's been gifted from Elves, but her favorite comes from an elven village named Thaenabelle. The lyre is made primarily from Spruce with a Mahogany backboard. It uses silver fittings and has 16 strings, giving it a large pool of unique sounds that melds well with the sound of her flute. Instead of playing the lyre herself, she would often seek other bards to play the lyre so that she may play her flute alongside it.
Mental characteristics
Education
Nyssa studied at the College of Aramoor, which is located in Aramoor City, Luxina County, Nouvelle.
Employment
Nyssa is currently an infobroker, gathering information from a variety of sources and selling them to those who need them. Nyssa used to be much more reputable, having a sense of justice attached to her work, but she now works free of morality and justice. The reasons for this change are unknown to her clientele and even her closest allies, but most would agree that the change was much more sudden than gradual.
During her time as an amateur infobroker, she was once an adventurer. Her time as one is not well documented, and most people do not remember her being one, but the adventurers' guild in Luxina does in fact have a record of her as an A-Rank adventurer with a great reputation. The guild also has a record of her final adventure, which is considered
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Most people attribute this event as one of the main reasons for her change of attitude in her main line of work as an infobroker.to be one of the greatest failures in the guild's history. Only three of the seven-man party survived, but Nyssa is the only one not in critical condition or on life support.
Intellectual Characteristics
Nyssa is sometimes seen as being scholarly in her word choices or decisions. When confronted with something that challenges her intelligence, she would often logic her way to a solution fairly quickly, especially when it comes to music. Nyssa's understanding of tones and their mathmatical implementations are impressive even to scholars of music theory, though it is not something she actively studies or pursues as a career choice. To her, Nyssa would rather just play music with other bards or musicians for the love of the art.
Her scholarly knowledge is something she pursued in College, but it comes in handy when gathering information in the world. Nyssa often mixes her booksmarts with her experiences, which makes for a firm foundation of understanding when it comes to even basic things like flowers and their meanings, or showing genuine appreciation for prose and poetic writing. Nyssa doesn't see herself as "cultured" per se, but rather as someone who can appreciate a showing of culture, as someone who as praticaly traveled the world and back.
Morality & Philosophy
Nyssa's views of morality are somewhat skewed. While she does not take pleasure in other people's suffering or lead anyone to their deaths, she has little regard for other's mortality. She is just as likely to walk into a tavern for information as she is asking around during a funeral, but she has the decency to wait til its over or talk with people just outside of the area as to not distrub the peace. However, in the very rare instances Nyssa works with others, she is often excessively worried about the well-being of her companions, no matter how much of a stranger they are to her. This is something that some find strange and off-putting, and is only just another point towards her infamy.
If you ask Nyssa, she would simply state that ".. ethics can get in the way of innovation, but it takes a heartless fiend to kill a child." For her, scamming others or telling half-truths is where all journalism business ends up in the end. However, Nyssa has not completely fallen and still cares about others to an extent. As previously stated, she cares deeply for her companions, no matter the relationship, and she never leads others towards death. This odd and seemingly hypocritical nature is what makes Nyssa incredibly difficult to read, and it's what makes her so dangerous to many.
Social
Religious Views
Nyssa doesn't like to speak about her religious beliefs. When religion comes up, she is the first to explain it away as something natural or scientific rather than something divine. Whether that means she is not religious or simply acting against religion is not completely known, though Nyssa has, on occasion, spoken favorably about Oghma. This seems to be more about her being bard than anything else.
Social Aptitude
Nyssa is very charismatic and known infamously as someone who speak only in half-truths. Nyssa is experienced in concealing her true intentions and hiding them behind a mask of friendliness and approachability. While her intentions are unknown, she tends not to lead others into death, nor does she ever give someone information that may lead them to their death. Whether this is just a facade or not, Nyssa does not want others to die, but does not always tell the truth or give the full truth. Thus does her reputation precede her as the "Unsung Wren."
Mannerisms
Nyssa tends to speak with an air of cheerfulness and playfulness. She acts cutesy to lower people's guard while speaking softly and without too many colloqualisms. This is to keep any possible hostility to a minimum and to keep the listerners engaged. Nyssa is very observant and can spot speech patterns while also looking out for anything she may be able to use to gain the upper hand in any conversation or deal. At a tavern, she might buy someone a drink so that they're more willing to say something, or in the slums, she might toss a coin for some information. Either way, Nyssa plays to any advantage she can get, but her manner of speech keeps people at bay and without too much suspicion.
Speech
Nyssa's natural voice is soft-spoken and with a slight gnomish accent, which accentuates her slight differences in vowel pitches. When trying to play her cards in a deal or to get information, she hides her natural speech by speaking more clearly, copying the accent of the local population, and increasing her pitch to sound more vulnerable and innocent.
Nyssa hardly swears, which is something she picked up when trying to change the way she speaks. She also tends to compliment others or greet others with a lot ofenthusiam, regardless of her intentions. A lot of her modified speech patterns when trying to gather information has changed the way she speaks normally, something she realizes but can't do too much about.
A cheerful gnome who seems to know a bit too much about the current situation. Nyssa is good at hiding her intentions, making it difficult to tell half-truths. She is adamantly opposed to the idea that the Dwarven prophesy about the World Serpent is true.
View Character Profile
Alignment
Lawful Neutral
Current Status
Gathering information on the World Serpent
Current Location
Species
Ethnicity
Date of Birth
24th Moon of Astrum, 748 CE
Year of Birth
748 CE
34 Years old
Birthplace
Yek Datock
Children
Sex
Female
Presentation
Feminine
Eyes
Green, big, round
Hair
Long, wavy, typically tied into a ponytail, well maintained
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Fair
Height
3'7"
Weight
39 lbs.
Gnomish (Native)
Elvish (Fluent)
Dwarvish (Fluent; Conversational)
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