Thornapple Maudsley
Thornapple Maudslay grew up in Dog's Warf, one of the poorer neighborhoods in the city of Equinox. She is from a working class family, her mother a witch of fairly average skill and power, who's work mainly involved maintaining the engines of the massive magik powered airships that sailed the ley lines that connected much of the country. Her father was a machinist of no magikal means, that had worked in another area of the maintenance department. Like most witches, her mother was conscripted when The Blight began, and based on her background became an onboard mechanic to the SRC Magnificent, or "Miss Maggie" to the crew. It was here that she found her calling, keeping the warship in the air for three years, through many brutal battles. She was loved by the crew, and her quick thinking and ingenuity many times saved the ship from what with most other mechanics would have been complete destruction. That is until the battle of Cromwall. The combined forces of the four great houses were utterly decimated, with the casualties in the hundreds of thousands. The battle was deep in blighted territories, and SRC Magnificent was attempting to evacuate the wounded when it was brought down. There were no survivors.
Thornapple was nine at the time of her mother's death. Her father did everything he could for her, raising her alone, and often took on odd jobs as a tinkerer and repair man to make ends meet. She was fascinated by all things mechanical, and soaked up everything she could learn. She excelled at school. Her classmates, and soon even her teachers couldn't keep up with her, and early on she set her sights on Balefire University, even then knowing it would be an uphill battle. Balefire was the world's most prestige school of Magik. She had no ties to the royalty known to attend. She was fairly sure no one from Dog's Warf had ever even been accepted. But worst of all, she did not have the natural aptitude or deep reserves of magik energies the most powerful witches carry within them. Undeterred, she immersed herself in arcane studies, a feat that would have been impossible if not for her best friend and fellow Dog's Warf witch Delia Rhildreth, whose propensity for trouble lent itself to breaking them in to every arcane institution, library, and bookstore necessary for Thornapple to pursue her dream. Delia was Thornapple's complete opposite, a natural savant at the use of magik, who only seemed inspired to use it for things illegal or dangerous (or "interesting" as she would put it). Thornapple poured over every scrap she could get her hands on (much of which Delia read as well, simply because she knew she wasn't supposed to) until her knowledge of theoretic magik was unparalleled by anyone her age, and at eighteen both of them were admitted to Balefire.
She is now in her second year, and has applied herself with the same diligence and dedication that had gotten her to this point. Her main area of study is in occult technologies, mechanical applications of theurgical sciences. When not in the library researching, she spends an inordinate amount of time in the on campus workshop, crafting various combinations of magik and machine. She has worked tirelessly to hone her skills to surgical precision, to make the most efficient use of any energies she can harness. To compensate for her lack of magik reserves, she builds rechargeable crystal containment devices that she hangs from her belt, that she can draw on for power. Everything she carries, from her bracelet to her goggles, have been imbued with various spells, making her more than a match for almost any of the other students of Balefire. Even her necklace is charged with a powerful protective charm, a last gift from her mother.
While at Balefire, she spends most of her time immersed in her studies, with Delia her only friend at the school. But when her unique skills gain her the attention of Alice of the House of Autumn, she becomes involved in a world bigger than she could ever imagine.
Thornapple was nine at the time of her mother's death. Her father did everything he could for her, raising her alone, and often took on odd jobs as a tinkerer and repair man to make ends meet. She was fascinated by all things mechanical, and soaked up everything she could learn. She excelled at school. Her classmates, and soon even her teachers couldn't keep up with her, and early on she set her sights on Balefire University, even then knowing it would be an uphill battle. Balefire was the world's most prestige school of Magik. She had no ties to the royalty known to attend. She was fairly sure no one from Dog's Warf had ever even been accepted. But worst of all, she did not have the natural aptitude or deep reserves of magik energies the most powerful witches carry within them. Undeterred, she immersed herself in arcane studies, a feat that would have been impossible if not for her best friend and fellow Dog's Warf witch Delia Rhildreth, whose propensity for trouble lent itself to breaking them in to every arcane institution, library, and bookstore necessary for Thornapple to pursue her dream. Delia was Thornapple's complete opposite, a natural savant at the use of magik, who only seemed inspired to use it for things illegal or dangerous (or "interesting" as she would put it). Thornapple poured over every scrap she could get her hands on (much of which Delia read as well, simply because she knew she wasn't supposed to) until her knowledge of theoretic magik was unparalleled by anyone her age, and at eighteen both of them were admitted to Balefire.
She is now in her second year, and has applied herself with the same diligence and dedication that had gotten her to this point. Her main area of study is in occult technologies, mechanical applications of theurgical sciences. When not in the library researching, she spends an inordinate amount of time in the on campus workshop, crafting various combinations of magik and machine. She has worked tirelessly to hone her skills to surgical precision, to make the most efficient use of any energies she can harness. To compensate for her lack of magik reserves, she builds rechargeable crystal containment devices that she hangs from her belt, that she can draw on for power. Everything she carries, from her bracelet to her goggles, have been imbued with various spells, making her more than a match for almost any of the other students of Balefire. Even her necklace is charged with a powerful protective charm, a last gift from her mother.
While at Balefire, she spends most of her time immersed in her studies, with Delia her only friend at the school. But when her unique skills gain her the attention of Alice of the House of Autumn, she becomes involved in a world bigger than she could ever imagine.