the doll house

name: willow
race: the nix
tribe/clan/lineage: niyeshaireen
age: 19 by human standards
homecoming to the earth realm: spring of 2005
underworld year: 10197
in the 2nd year under Emperor Melior Atrayus

race: the nix…
the nix are a race of strange convergences. a genetic cocktail of off-world fei and human, they believe that a race must constantly strive to evolve. in a bold move to push their evolution along faster, they decided to mix their inborn magical abilities with cybernetic technology. their understanding of complex mathematics, anatomy, ancient magical traditions and advanced nano-technology give them a startling range of abilities.

the nix dwell in the far northern islands of keye-ahlesh, otherwise known as the twilight isles. these three beautiful islands sit but a few thousand miles from the northern pole and are constantly dusted with winter snow. also called the lands of perpetual winter, the islands are covered in thick forests, shear beach cliffs and surrounded by crystal clear waters. active volcanic mountains also pepper the islands and hence they’re dotted with a great number of hot springs and black sand beaches.

those who travel to the islands via airship are known to comment that they are laid out like three perfect jewels: the largest island at the center is kiya-thex and it is flanked by the two smaller islands una-pree-veighta & vex dahlia. the nix capital city of verbeena umbra sits atop the tallest mountain on kiya thex and rises up into the very clouds via countless spires. from a distance the city looks like a series of giant stone stalks topped by three wide open lotus flower blossoms.

marble exteriors, giant circular windows, and round rooms filled with richly crafted furniture…soft rugs carpet the floors and large fireplaces seem to always hold a fresh fire…this gives you just a taste of the world of nix. despite a few items that one would think to associate with old world charm, the nix prefer mixing sleek, modern, minimalist design elements with more natural materials. their surroundings reflect this through their heavy use of smooth dark stones like granite and obsidian, along with glass and beautiful dark woods pulled from their native forests

the nix realm pivots upon an axis of technology and machines, with the strange fact being that their technology and machines are powered by their magic. they find no conflict in this because they view the mechanical as being but an extension of nature, a refinement and molding of nature to be precise. for them, the leap to unifying their technology and their magic—and then marrying aspects of their technology into their very bodies– was just a natural progression.

they also have an amazing grasp of business and commerce, so much so that they were actually co-founders of the underworld’s infamous “goblin market” two hundred and thirteen years ago. this venture has brought their people quite a bit of wealth and notoriety, since the architecture of the market and it’s construction itself are still considered marvels of supernatural science, inter-dimensional physics and technology. the goblin market exists within an inter-dimensional bubble of sorts and though one can look at a map of the underworld and see it situated at a certain place, other creatures in other dimensions can also spot it on a map of their own world so that they too may find their way to the mecca of underworld trade and commerce to buy, sell or trade goods and information.

their love for all things magical, mechanical and economic has not diminished their friendly disposition though. they are a fairly sociable race with a knack for being infectiously curious about all things. they love sharing their knowledge with others and delight when given the opportunity to have others share their knowledge with them. the libraries of their capital city are legendary and quite the tourist attraction. the nix are the makers of a huge variety of computers and machines fit for doing all manner of tasks, from the constructing of buildings to aiding in delicate surgeries. the nix are also known for creating extremely realistic automatons. made to order, these creatures, known as “Das Tahlia”, have such remarkable artificial intelligence that one can sometimes find it hard to even tell that they are not flesh and blood at all. anatomically correct in all ways, das tahlia’s are commonly employed as multi-purpose companions.

prior to the mercenary raids, the nix populace hovered around 300,000. After the raids their numbers were brought down to approximately 2500.

the structure of their government revolves around a council of thirteen appointed elders who meet about six times a year to make decisions on behalf of the entire triptych of islands. the thirteen are a mix of men and women from each tribe and they are voted into their positions via election every two years.

their kind are commonly seen as: inventors, surgeons, bio-mechanical engineers, general mechanics, architectural designers, tacticians, techno-mages, sculptors, linguists/interpreters, scholars, professors…

sect/tribe: niyeshaireen

family status: the niyeshaireen are commonly a mix of middle, lower nobility and upper and middle classes. they commonly take careers as: bio-mechanical engineers, scientists, surgeons, interpreters, techno-mages, psy-optic therapists (what a human might call a psychiatrist with telepathic abilities), architects of large scale building projects and as skilled das tahlia engineers. the niyeshaireen are also known to be the master morticians of the underworld.

their sect, rulers of the beautiful island of vex dahlia, were the first to invent embalming methods and they quickly turned caring for the dead & shuffling them to the afterlife into a high art. their almost endless knowledge of the burial practices & rituals of hundreds of tribes coupled with their skilled handling & execution of ceremony make their services quite sought after. their spiraling necropolis Krishva-Kye, is home to the the realms most beautifully constructed mausoleums, tombs and burial forests. many a pilgrimage is made to this city of the dead and their kind are even willing to travel abroad to oversee and direct the burials of those that may afford such service. the niyeshaireen were also one of the main tribes in charge of all the detailed engineering aspects in the construction of the goblin market. they have the honor of being the “keyholder” tribe, for held deep within a vault in their capital city are the very nano-tech blue prints for the skeletal frame onto which the goblin market is constructed. it is said that the children of the tribe master the programming of simple nano bot constructs by the age of three and at the age of four they are made to recite the individual names of every nano-bot piece that makes up the skeletal schematics for the great goblin market as a test to gauge their mental fortitude. the schematic is made up of over 30 billion such nano-bot constructs.

niyeshaireen are a friendly people, but one must work to gain their trust and respect. they are sociable and well-spoken, yet when asked they’ll commonly tell you they prefer solitude and quiet meditation. they strive to constantly learn and hence they must pull time from their busy schedules so that they may meditate and contemplate all that they have taken in over the course of a day. they are also gifted telepaths with considerable telekinetic skills.

niyeshaireen families are polygamist. however, in their culture the tables are turned a bit: instead of the usual scenario of a husband surrounded by wives, the doors swing both ways with the situation more commonly being one wife with two husbands. custom dictates that the tribe be managed by two that are appointed via popular vote of the entire clan. at this time, the niyashaireen tribe is managed by willow’s elder cousin jhonen and a trusted off-worlder by the name of seyghin.

willow’s great-great grandmother –tura tamaran–was head mage of engineering in the constructing of the goblin market and her great-great grandfather lexander was the spear head in developing the sect’s ‘death guild’ to standardize the practices, not to mention unify & legitimize, the morticians of vex dahlia. tura also took a second husband of high standing by the name of morgan who was heir to a fortune culled from the spice and spell component trade. great great grandfather morgan had also invented a number of popular magical/informational storage tools. for these reasons, willow grew up in a world of rather understated opulence and comfort. but her parents did not want to raise up a spoiled brat of a child, for despite their considerable rank in their society they did not isolate themselves or hold themselves in higher regard than any other family in their tribe. their home was comfortable, yet modest and even their style of dressing was no different than that of any other member of their tribe.

willow was educated by her parents, both geniuses in their own right. she’d also taken specific courses with special tutors, who were usually specialists, expert in a particular subject or group of subjects. her mother –named elorwynd–was a sought after death mage and willow would often accompany her on official business. her father, noeven , worked as a das tahlia engineer. her mother, against tradition, decided to wait on taking a second husband, however she did keep a young lover by the name of danis.

on a business trip to the house of a dying sage named floria the all seeing, elorwynd was asked to perform the death rite of “irrist-al-veltorum”. with this rite the one dying is requesting to have their soul pushed into a specific realm for rebirth. floria chose the rite of the dreaming so she would be sent into the realm of lord morpheus, the dream lord. as elorwynd began to perform the last rites she slipped into a deep trance. willow then drew closer to the side of the bed to get a closer look at what was about to unfold. the old woman noticed willow and found her so beautiful that she decided to give her a gift. she reached out her hand and touched willow’s cheek. “I give you everything I know, little one, for if I knew at your age the things I know now after all these four hundreds years I would have done things much differently in my life.” by the time that willow’s mother realized what was happening it was too late. floria’s thumb pressed into the middle of willow’s forehead and with that she imparted all her knowledge into willow and then passed into the arms of her next life smiling. willow was ten years old at the time. the force of so much knowledge hit her consciousness like a hammer. she fell to the floor screaming and twitching, her eyes temporarily blind…..but her mind afire with knowledge…and then it was afire with the madness that comes from knowing far too much far too soon. the child’s head burned with a delirious fever for seven days and nights, in which time she writhed and twitched while encased in a strange coma. when she finally work her eyes were no longer blind, but to her parents dismay, she also seemed to be a completely different person…it was as if she had been reborn, but with the mind of a woman trapped in the body of a child.

from the magical arts to advanced mathematics and science, willow is well-versed, highly intelligent, logical & extremely calculated in her thinking and in her actions.
some who know her describe her as an icing of sweetness and charm covering a cake of meticulous and giggling delirious insanity. there’s more knowledge baked into it than is healthy and a ribbon of genius is tied right tight ’round it.

the mercenary raids didn’t help matters and willow was actually taken captive for a time. strange men with faces like that of lizards took her from her bed in the dead of night, shackled her with special chains that suppressed magic and then blind folded and gagged her just to be on the safe side. ironically, she was eventually sold at the goblin market to a tall, handsome vampire she came to know as master niveck.

it turned out that niveck was a close friend of willow’s cousin jhonen and it was actually jhonen’s instruction that lead niveck to acquire and keep willow safe at his remote mountain stronghold. over six and half feet tall, niveck was slim as a reed and had a pale face that one could only describe as beautiful…a beauty so distractingly perfect and almost feminine he would sometimes find that even other men seemed compelled to stare at him. his eyes were a startling shade of amber beset like strange and hypnotic jewels within his head, framed by long black lashes they seemed to not so much to look at you but to stare into you. long black hair reached down his back in gentle waves and a smell akin to rich incense and spices seemed to constantly waft from his being.

upon her arrival, he lead her to the chamber that would be hers & then told her to sit down at the foot of the bed. he could see she was still quite shaken and upset, still filthy from days spent within the confines of a cage, but he wanted to waste no time…pacing in front of the large fireplace, he told her what had happened on the night that she was taken captive… he explained that hordes of foreign mercenaries now raided the lands and that most of her tribe had been slain in the ensuing battles, including her mother and father, and that she was to stay with him but for a short time while things calmed down since battles still raged across the realm.

she turned her face from him and tried her best not to cry but tears quickly filled her eyes & streamed down her face. within but a few seconds she found her composure lost and her body shook with furious sobbing. for five minutes she sobbed and then, in the blink of an eye, she forced her self to stop. but she soon found that her sorrow turned itself into screaming. at the top of her lungs she wailed with hopes the very fates would hear her and cringe. franticly, as if possessed of it’s own volition, her hand flew to her mouth to cover it, but this lead only to more tears, for it was as if her sadness demanded an outlet.

all the while niveck calmly stood and allowed her to vent her despair. when finally she seemed to calm herself to quiet sobs, he found himself a spot kneeling on the floor by the bedside. he then leaned in close to her and took her face in one hand. kissing the salt tears from her cheeks he softly spoke, “i know of your unhinging little snowflake… and I know what floria the all seeing imparted onto you…memories of many wars and terrible things…i’d think you’d have no tears left to cry at all….yet here you sit and cry these sweet fine tears.”

he then looked into her eyes and spoke sternly, “no more crying. this world is pain and the best thing for you to do is to anticipate & accept the fact that there will be times when you’ll feel this world is ripping out your heart. accept this and things won’t be so bad.”

the bright fire of his eyes was hypnotizing her, calming her mind and halting her tears. she felt her body slowly relaxing. “i know…what you’re doing… to me,” she whispered softly. niveck laughed at the subtle sound of defiance he heard in those words and then pulled her into his arms, “oh you do, do you? is there something wrong with me comforting you, willow-dove?….i mean, its the least you can allow me considering. or am i just supposed to let you sit here crying and do nothing….feel nothing?”

suddenly, he was carefully placing her on the bed, maneuvering pillows to better suit her and pulling back sheets. with little effort he ripped the soiled and tattered gown from her body, then he seemed to produce a warm wash cloth from thin air and proceeded to wash all the goblin market grime from her skin and hair. the pleasant smell of lavender soap filled the air around her, soothing & quieting her further.
she was so exhausted and relaxed by this point that she could barely keep her eyes open. so tired she was that she cared not to feel shame for her nudity and could do little more than lie still & quiet.

she heard the sound of a cloth being rung out into a bucket of water over and over again….then felt the softness of a clean silk gown against her skin and the bristles of a brush moved through her hair. she heard the sound of tea pot whistling to her side and then that of liquid pouring into a vessel.

within minutes niveck was helping her sit up and a warm cup of sweet black tea was pressed to her lips. she tentatively took a sip and it was as if all her tension and fear melted away. she took the cup into her hands and this time took a considerable gulp, as it seemed the most delicious tea she had ever tasted.

her eyes darted up to look at niveck, who now took a seat across from her.”you see,” niveck began, his voice seeming so close to her ear despite the distance between them, “i know pain all too well and you’ll quickly learn as I did that it’s all a matter of degree, context and frame of mind.” “so this will all get…. easier one day?” she managed to whisper, sitting her tea cup on the beside table. “yes,” he replied,”you are now also learning how the ability to endure pain can make you stronger. stranger still, you’ll even come to a point where you’ll begin to realize that some kinds of pain can even be enjoyable.” “i find that hard to believe,” willow spoke, eyes half closed. he leaned forward, gingerly kissed her lips, and whispered low, “you’ll believe soon enough, for i am about to show you one such pain.” his lips moved to kiss her neck, “for your stay within the comfort of my home is not without some cost.” with those words said he bit into her supple neck and introduced her to that most intoxicating of pains….the vampire’s kiss.

for one year willow resided with niveck as the mercenary wars raged across the lands. in that time he taught her shadow magics and other forms of black magic particular to his tribe, the namoo jshean. though he did feel strongly for willow, niveck knew that she was not to stay with him forever and hence he refrained from giving into the temptation to take her….to usher her into womanhood and make her his bound concubine. and what temptation it was, for she seemed only to grow more beautiful over the course of her stay with him.

but niveck had read his tarot cards many times and they surely foretold of her inevitable departure. and it was at the end of that year that willow eventually received her invitation to join the house of viollet.

specifications
doll produced by: serendipity doll/ dollmore dolls
release name: nightmare sharmin
face up:noh joung-eui

measurements:
height: 16″