Temperance

Temperance is the young (by Ice Sprite standards) Royal Seer of Varrock- and thus all of Misthalin- under Queen Katrina Marie Aerendyl's rule, as well as a Council-woman for the neighbouring town of Edgeville. She has mastered her talent for reading time as well as mind magicks, and has natural control of Ice Magicks.

Birth and arrival in Geilinor
The exact year of Temperance's birth is unknown, as she simply 'appeared' one day. Her parents- two Ice Sprites presumably as she is a full-blooded Ice Sprite- are yet unkown. It was a harsh winter night when the Human Seer Helson heard the large gale of wind that threatened to batter down his door and shatter his windows. When the ageing man checked his door for damage, he heard the mewling of a child outside his hut. When he investigated, he found an odd, blue-skinned child with hair as white as the snow that had heralded her arrival and eyes to match.

The Seer was surprised by this turn of events, to say the least, as it was not something he had foreseen. He later assumed it was from the fact that, up until that moment, the child had not existed within the plane of Geilinor, and therefore was out of his power to see.

He took the child in and found, carved in a cloudy-white glass-like Icicle the phrase She has the gift. The gift, Helson rightly assumed, was the 'Gift of Prophecy', or being able to read the future. The Seer was a devout follower of Guthix and named the child 'Temperance' that she might be a balanced individual; calm and controlled.

Young Childhood
Helson, primarily a hermit, was a poor man to say the least. Everything he needed was supplied by himself, or was recieved through trading with nearby Seer's Village. As such, Temperance grew up with little in the ways of material goods. She by no means wore rags, but her two dresses- that Helson had hand-sown- were quite utilitarian to say the least. Her toys were either crafted by Helson or herself, or rarely bought from the village.

Most of her time in this stage of her life was spent with the few toys she had or playing pretend in the woods near her home. Temperance helped Helson around the house when it was needed, but at her age, it was too soon to truly help with anything more than cleaning and she was too young yet to begin training her talent.

Her childhood progressed slowly, due to her lengthened life-span, but eventually it passed, signified by the first of her premonitions. It was nothing more than a vision of fire in the village, but when it came to pass a week later Helson began her training.

Late Childhood and Apprenticeship to The Seer
Temperance, after her first vision, began her training as a Seer. She took to this training with a gusto, happy to have something other than playing with the same few toys all day, though she'd never say that to Helson, who she viewed as a father.

Her training involved a lot of meditating with Helson, and for the first few months to years, her training progressed slowly. Her visions would come only once or twice a week, at the most, and only occured in her sleep. But still, she trained and trained. It was about a year and a half into her training when she finally managed to summon a vision, rather than recieve it.

As for the rest of her daily life, Temperance mainly helped Helson around the house much as a normal daughter would, learning to sow and cook and clean correctly. She took to gardening and enjoyed spending time in their vegetable garden, even as Helson rambled on about Guthix.

By the time she was the equivilent of a pre-teen human child, almost fourty years had passed since she had been found by Helson, who was now growing old and tired.

Death of Helson
On the thirty-sixth year of Temperance's life- marking her at about a twelve year old child- Helson passed into the spirit realm. It had been a quiet afternoon, and by now Helson had become nearly bed-ridden, leaving the young girl to fend for both the house and the sick man by herself. Her days were spent either working or sitting by Helson's bedside, if only to keep him company.

She knew the day would come when the man would pass, but still it hurt her. It was a peaceful death, and he died with a smile dancing on his old lips. Temperance mourned his death and buried him out in the garden, beneath a tree that Helson had planted the year he found her.

Temperance, by this point, had nearly mastered her abilities as a Seer (or so she thought), and found that- without Helson- there was no reason for her to stay at the home of her youth. She took what little she could carry, namely some of Helson's nicer robes and some food, and she set off.

Catherby and White Wolf Mountain
Temperance had never truly been alone before, and knew even less about the world. She set off in a random direction on night, and that direction happened to be east. She passed through Seer's Village, though no one took much notice to her, and made her way to the semi-bustling port city of Catherby. There, she spent some time living in the outskirts of town, making what she could from the meager food she had with her.

Eventually, she decided to leave Catherby after a few months. She continued in her original direction, and ended up on White Wolf Mountain. The Chill of the Mountain felt strangely homey to her, much as she had found in the blizzards back home. she climbed the mountain and as she neared the peak it became colder and colder and she felt more and more at home.

The trip, though, had taken a heavy toll on her food supply, and it was just a little while before reaching the peak of White Wolf Mountain that she finally collapsed from hunger. When next Temperance awakened, she was greeted by the Oracle, who had 'found' her atop the mountain and brought her to wherever they were now, supposedly the Oracle's home. Later, Temperance found they were atop Ice mountain, and not White Wolf Mountain, any more. This occurance is still a mystery to her to this day.

Apprenticeship to The Oracle
A greater seer than even Helson, The Oracle was the next person to take on the duty of teaching Temperance. Temperance found that her training with the Oracle was much easier and even enjoyable in comparison to her time with Helson, though Helson would always be her father. It was here with the Oracle that Temperance learned the name of her race as 'Ice Sprite'.

When Temperance questioned the Oracle on why this training was so much easier the Oracle explained that Helson, while a seer, trained Temperance much as a human druid would be trained, rather than an Ice Sprite. The living atop a freezing mountain helped her feel more attuned to the world, and thus time and fate, as well as some other things the Oracle explained that Temperance never understood.

Under the Oracle's tutelage, Temperance learned to truly read time, rather than simply summon visions. Now, Temperance could see backwards in time and watch- in full clarity- almost any event in the past or present. Future was a much harder topic to grasp. It was also through the Oracle's teaching that Temperance learned of her affinity for Ice Magick and magic in general, learning how to manipulate the elements as well as her mind. Thus, she learned Ice and Mind magic under the oracle.

Soon, though, Temperance departed, now nearing fifty years of age, putting her at about sixteen or so in comparison to a human. The Oracle let her leave with no objections.

Varrock
After the departure from Ice Mountain, Temperance made her way east once more, still yet unsure of her final destination. She arrived at varrock's west gate late one night, and only one guard was posted. After a brief inspection, as it was more than obvious that Temperance had no concealed weaponry, The guard let her through. Temperance had never been in a big city before, and even though the streets were clear as it was late, it terrified her. She wandered for a time, listening to her boots clacking on the stone.

Another guard, this one either more zealous or competent than the first, decided that a hooded, robed individual was suspicious enough to warrant arrest. Temperance, scared more than anything, did not resist and went with the guard. She was imprisoned for the night, for which she later was thankful as she was then able to sleep. The next morning she was brought- by the same guard as the night before- to the King and Queen of Varrock, Aevan and Katrina Aerendyl.

Somehow, her ability as a seer was brought up, and both the King and Queen saw how that might be useful in the coming days. She was essentially hired, after a brief 'probation' period, as a Seer in Varrock and soon the Royal Seer. As she'd have been dead if not for this job, these events spurned a fierce loyalty in Temperance for her new King and Queen.

The Battle for Varrock
The Invasion of varrock occured a few months after Temperance was hired, and she had foreseen its possibility once before, warning the queen briefly. When the battle actually occured, Temperance spent the entirety of it in the sanctity of her small room in the castle, watching the city through her mind's eye.

Overall, the battle was fairly unimportant to the girl, though it saddened her greatly to know that such large scale displays of wanton destruction and murder were possible.

Edgeville and the Lord Syer
After the battle, two men wished to lay claim to Varrock's close neighbour and ruined town of Edgeville. These men were the war heroes Rhaegos Flamelocke who, in the invasion of varrock, slew multiple officers in the enemy army, and the Half-Majharrat Syer Rzzar who served the queen as a spy as well as earning his keep in the battle through the blade.

The two dueled under the eye of Aevan Aerendyl, and in the end Syer was victorious, having killed Rhaegos as the old warrior would not yield. Syer was granted the title of Lord Ruler of Edgeville, and reconstruction began.

Katrina asked Temperance to scry the new lord, and read his future. Somehow, it was impossible from within the castle. Temperance knew the feeling of this failure too well, and it was her mind's shield against insanity that would inevitably follow reading her own future. In the pit of her stomach, Temperance knew that this meant that Syer and her futures were closely intertwined in some, yet unknown way. She lied to the queen, however, and said that distance had been an issue.

Temperance was sent by Katrina to 'Congratulate the new Lord Syer on his promotion' where in truth it was simply a reason for Katrina to send her Royal Seer to Edgeville without raising suspicion and allowing Temperance to read the future of Edgeville and, eventually, Syer.

When Temperance found Syer, it was outside Edgeville's Armor shoppe. Syer, in his black and purple armor, along with Edgeville's Armorer, Conor. When Temperance was snapped from her 'seeing', she saw Syer for the first time and, with both the quickened beating of her heart and her inability to speak, she knew why she couldn't read Syer's fortune. For her, at least, she was in love.

When she introduced herself, after stumbling over quite a good amount of words, Syer commented that she might be useful to him and Edgeville in the coming days. Immediately and without thinking, she replied that Queen Katrina had sent her to be as helpful as possible, and that she would be happy to serve him.

Her first, semi-unimportant, task had been to show Conor, the new armorer, around edgeville, which she did without hesitation. She told herself she jumped at the job to get away from Syer, but she knew deep down it was to try and make him happy with her.

When she returned, she found Syer in an arguement with a shady man- whom she associated with a ripper demon from his armament- whose name was later revealed to be Zarin Renderra, come to settle a dispute with Syer over something Syer had killed.

She sat and watched from a rock as the two duelled, using this time to scry on Zarin and, inadvertantly, learning the feel of his mind as she watched. when the duel was over, Syer had yielded and Zarin had teleported away. At this point, Syer angrily asked her the location of the pet Zarin had been looking for, so that he might kill it once more, and for good. Temperance, though she was against the idea of the killing, immediately located the hellhound and told Syer, that he might be pleased with her.

He teleported away, and she began the walk back to varrock castle. That night, she dreamt of her and Syer, and the true details of the dream she is hesitant to speak about.

The Dreamworld
In the midst of her dream, Temperance felt a familiar presence; Zarin. From her training, she knew she could assert control in her dreams if really necessary, and so she did. She did not want Zarin walking in on such a dream as she was having and having the boy see her vulnerable.

The alteration of the dream was hasty, and she couldn't completely rid Syer from the dream so she reconstructed the scene in Edgeville as the two had duelled, except this time putting Syer with his sword to Zarin's throat. Zarin commented on her wishing it had ended that way, and she retorted that is was just a metaphor for Zarin's powerlessness in her dream, though that was not the whole truth.

The two talked for a while, and Zarin spoke of wanting the hound's spirit to be free and to be granted the animal's bones. To help Syer, Temperance lied and said that the hound was dead and its spirit was free. Zarin believed her and they agreed that Zarin would enter her dream in three days and Temperance would inform him of how he was to retrive the bones, so that another duel with Syer would be avoided. She had foreseen the next duel, and it would end in Zarin's death, which she did not want.

Zarin tried to leave the dream by slashing a hole through it, as he might leave an ordinary dream, but instead Temperance decided to assert her dominance by not allowing him out of his own free will, and instead releasing him at her pace.

She then returned to full sleep and blotted out the dream of her and Syer, which now returned in full.

Appearance
Temperance stands at about 5'7" to 5'8" and weighs only 130Ibs. or so. She has a very womanly figure, though it is often concealed by the baggy white and blue robes she wears. Her hair is a snow-white colour and is long enough to cascade past her shoulders. she wears it long and often tucked behind one ear, though it falls out of place often, causin her to brush it back behind her ear every so often. her skin is a pale blue colour and is completely flawless and soft. Her eyes are pure, pupiless white, and when she reads a person she'll often stare at them unblinking, a trait easily described as eerie or unerring.

Personality
Temperance is Caring and Loyal, but she tends to distance herself from people for a few reasons. Primarily, she grew up alone and as such has difficulty dealing with people, as she is unaccustomed to it. Another reason is that she knows, as an Ice Sprite, she will likely outlive any person she meets, which causes her to be apprhensive about relationships, as she doesn't want to be left alone. The last reason is that, being a Seer, she is terrified of seeing someone close to her's death, and knowing that she can't stop it.

Despite this, however, she would want nothing more in the world than to love someone and have them love her back, and perhaps- in time- be married and become a mother. That, to her, seems like the epitome of a good life.

Abilities
Time Sight: Temperance's Time Sight allows her to look forwards and backwards in time, and is so realistic that she often has to wake up from the 'dream' and walk outside to assure herself of the present. She can look backwards and see most any event that has occured; or she can look at the present and scry most anywhere; or- and this is the most complicated- look to the future. The future, though appears not as a set, Definite event but rather as a series of branches caused by choices and other events.

As a side note, she can not scry her own future, as doing so enough will inevitably drive her insane, or so warned the Oracle.

Ice Magic: Being an Ice Sprite, Temperance has a natural affinity for Ice Magick of any kind. This can be as simple of freezing a glass of water, or manipulating ice to something as complicated as freezing a humans blood.

Mind Magic: Temperance has immense control of her mind to a point where she is basically telepathic and can control her dream-state with no effort. She tends not to use this, though, and uses it even less for combat (same with the Ice magic)

Emotion Manipulation: Temperance has a bizzare, natural ability to manipulate peoples emotions with her voice. She can speak of a man's greatest fears to him, and he will see them as vivid as if they were there. Her voice is soothing when she wishes it to be and will calm any who hear it. Her laughter will brighten a room and litterally ease a weary man's sores, so to speak. This ability is odd and often not used, and she doesn't fully understand how to use it.

Trivia

 * Temperance was named partially after Temperance Brennin from the TV show Bones and partially after the Heavenly Virtue Temperance
 * Temperance's room in Varrock Castle is the lone bedroom in the back of the second floor, across the hall from the other two bedrooms
 * Temperance is the currently the only Ice Sprite on Geilinor (Debatable according to whether or not the Ice Queen is an Ice Sprite) (4/18/2013)
 * Temperance's Future Sight is based on the Gift of Prophecy used by Dorian Ursuul in Brent Week's Night Angel Trilogy
 * Temperance's Emotion Manipulation is based on the Character Elva the Witch-Child in Christopher Paolini's Inheritence Cycle of books, also known as the Eragon series.