Keshnarmeynee Adumbra

Name:	Keshnarmeynee Adumbra, Kesh or Keshna for short
Bonds:	Verklei; Iszgih; Gibelettes
Bonded at:	Star City Dragonry; The Ring of Fire
Sponsors:	Rasil Na'carrah, Zourin Na'carrah, Hsaztnokt
Sponsored at:	The Abstract Destiny, Biosynth 08; Hybridization Center
Homeworld:	Avengaea
Species:	Avengaean Dark Demon
Age:	86 (adult; 79 at time of bonding)
Sex:	Female
Height:	5'3" human form, 18'7" at the shoulder as a demon
Fur:	Jet black
Eyes:	Silver
Skin:	Black
Hair:	Silvery gray
Position:	Personal servant to Lord-Guard Leader Pynliefde
Description:	Though she is sleek and sinuous, with clean fur and no actual physical defects, Keshnarmeynee, or just Keshna, is small and too skinny to be considered dangerous in a physical fight. Her pelt, as a Dark demon, is unmarked and jet black: short, healthy, and kept clean and groomed, but but slightly tattered in places, as if she is routinely scratched at but not quite hurt. Her eyes are a dull silver, kept demurely downcast or raised in subservient eagerness to please, and she wears only a minimal amount of jewelry all in cheap silver: though she loves silver, she simply can't afford to wear much of it-- in more ways than one, for not only is it expensive, but it catches the eye and thus, the attention. The only shifted alterations to the basic demonic form that she wears are a pair of small, curling horns over her eyes and a thin mane is silver hair growing all along her spine. In human form Keshna is just one step about mousy, if someone with pure black skin can be called mousy. Her silvery hair is straight, long, and usually pulled back neatly; her face is plain and her eyes dull and incurious; her body is thin, waiflike almost, with no curves to speak of; and her clothing is only what is suitable for a servant and assistant. She even wears a pair of small reading glasses when she has to read something, completing the image of a meek, quiet librarian.
Personality:	Keshnarmeynee is everything a Dark demon is not supposed to be: she is subservient, submissive, and timid, without pride, without ambition, and without imagination. She is happiest when she has someone else to tell her what to do, refuses to stand up for herself, and is more likely to hiss and shrink away when confronted than to growl and slash, like most other demons. Her own family has turned its corporate back on her for being spineless and taking up a servant's position rather than a warrior's or mage's. Though she has never actually stated her reasons for following Pynliefde so closely, it is assumed that she wanted a strong protector, for her own safety. A timid demoness on Avengaea is likely to become a dead demoness without some kind of patron, and Keshna is so submissive and eager to please that her safety is pretty much assured, unless Pynliefde decides to take out her bad mood on her servant's hide one day. What no one knows, however, is that Keshna is actually more clever than most demons, not less, and she has every bit as much pride, ambition, and imagination as any demon could wish for: she just hides it very, very well. Not even Keshna's family-- not that she ever really trusted or even liked anyone in it enough to tell, of course-- realize just how intelligent and careful she really is. Everything about her is an act, and a very, very good one, for no one has yet discovered her. She has plans for the future and puts up with being the proverbial lowest dog in the proverbial pack for now in order to gain more power later in life. In fact, she has positioned herself as Pynliefde's personal servant and yes-demon in part for a cover, as her projected personally would need a powerful personage to protect her, and in part to learn, study, and wait until her time comes to break away on her own.
History:	Keshnarmeynee's mother has long since regretted bestowing upon her youngest and most magically promising daughter such a noble, ancient name, because though it was assumed that she would do her parents proud and be a powerful mage or warrioress, she has done nothing but disappoint since she was only twenty, the equivalent of eight for her kind. That was when she realized that being powerful and clever-- or being thought powerful and clever-- was dangerous, and started hiding her intellect and ability through perhaps her strongest talents: good acting and careful planning. After that, she went through multiple teachers of multiple subjects, all of which believe her to be stupid, talentless, timid, clumsy, stubborn, fearful, or anything else they didn't want to work with, for she grew very quick to realize just what got on each tutor's nerves. Once she came of age, then, the protection of her family ended abruptly, and even though she is from a large and influential family, she was left with nothing. She scraped by in odd jobs for nearly a decade before, miraculously it seemed, landing a position with the Lord Guard in the demonic capitol city Vuil. Though the subservient, dull-witted personality she put forth won her no friends and much scorn, it also brought her to the attention of Pynliefde, the leader of the Lord Guard herself. The demoness could use a servant with just those qualities, she said, and so she swiftly made it so, putting Keshna into the position of her personal servant, assistant, and gofer. That won her even fewer friends, a lot of dirty looks, and the occasional roughing up when less "privileged" demons think they can get away with it, but Keshna thinks it's worth it to be so close to such a powerful demon. There is much she can learn, that way. Apparently, Keshna's servile abilities and attitude have either pleased or irritated her new mistress, for after five years of service she is being sent away with a small pack of others, including the demoness' own sister, to another world entirely, with the goal to bond things called xenodragons. Keshna is outwardly terrified of the prospect-- perhaps one reason she is being sent, because her fear amuses Pynliefde-- but inwardly is all but gleeful at the prospect. This could be the chance she's been waiting for, but even if it isn't, it could at least result in a step up in status and a partner in crime, as it were. Or more than one partner, if she can manage it. The prospect of having someone she doesn't have to hide from, even if that someone is as stupid as an Air demon or stupider (which, she's been told, some xenodragons are), is, after all, rather appealing. As it turns out, Keshna's outward personality had nothing to be afraid of, and her true personality had no reason to get excited. She is, in some ways, quite disappointed by the dragon-- the singular dragon, compared to the two Fire demon Kejenah snared and the three Rhuipkhu attracted-- she managed to bond. Oh, sure, Verklei is brave, loyal, fierce, even affectionate when Keshna lets her be. Sure, she's someone to talk to. Sure, she's blindly devoted. But she's lacking in one very important department: brains. As she'd half-worried, and probably should have expected, her dragon is about as stupid as an Air demon-- and even more tactless. Her second bond, made a couple months later on the same space station, isn't any better. Keshna's biggest worry, now, is whether or not she'll be able to keep her temper with her own dragons the next time they do something stupid like, say, letting out her little secret about her true personality.
Abilities:	One of the things that makes Keshna's acting so convincing is her psionic power: an accomplished telepath, she has the ability to not only shield her own thoughts but to impose false surface thoughts and emotions onto those shields. She has spent so much time and attention on her mental disguise that only the most meticulous, powerful, and lengthy search would reveal those low-lying shields, and given that Keshna is as suspicious as she is crafty, she would certainly notice and escape well before her real personality came through. Her telepathy has also saved her from the indignities of rape and brutal beating. Whenever she is attacked or indecently propositioned, she simply sends her abuser into unconsciousness, implants memories of carrying out their supposed intentions (or occasionally not, if she feels like "escaping" somehow), then flees the scene. She actually has a reputation for being good rape-bait, perhaps another reason for allying herself so closely with Pynliefde. Beyond telepathy, however, she has no psionic powers. Keshna was also considered a very promising mage student in her younger years, before she learned to hide her abilities. But for a few years of training, after which point she suddenly became quite stupid and frustrated her teachers to the point where they gave up on her, she is largely self-taught. Most of her power is centered around healing, though in a warped fashion as she is more likely to bring harm than help with her skill, and stealth, another aid to her disguise. Sometimes using her skill in healing magic to leave an attacker impotent or ill for at least a week makes a small but satisfying revenge on those who try to take advantage of her supposedly timid personality.