galamiła (gala)

Galamiła (Gala) of Clan Racisława NAME
Female SEX/GENDER
Original CANON
Post-assassination attempt on Gilia CANONPOINT

⚔️ Born into a warrior culture heavy with spiritual bonds and power, Gala has never known a life without nature, violence, and the influence of the spirit world. From the moment she could hold a sword she's been trained to become a warrior in her own right, one worthy of the name Stag-Knight - and from then until now, no matter what she's been through, has always made her ancestors proud. But while her upbringing and training in combat with the other young Stag-Knights set her on the path, the Spirit Bond she forged in her youth has helped guide her into the individual she is today.

(cw violence, death, death of a child) A warrior forged, a life built - and a life undone by violence in some of it's most brutal forms. So quickly she lost everything she held dear: in the span of a single, horrifically brutal raid on her village, she lost her unborn child, her wife, Yeva, and her stag (her war mount, yes, but also her spiritually bonded companion, a companion Stag-Knights revere as family), and nearly herself, too. The trauma of losing them at all, let alone together and so violently, destroyed her more than any of the physical damage she endured in the fighting, in labour for the entire battle no less, and left her spirit deeply injured.

🌿 Sent to the Isle of St. Loe once the worst of her injuries were finally healed, Gala was assigned to their most docile princess: Gilia St. Loe. An intentional decision by her commanders, knowing that Gala needed a bit of peace and time to recover. Because, although she was now in the service of St. Loe's royal family, their pacifist nature and vow of non-violence (relying instead on the service of the Stag-Knights), meant that this was actually considered a fairly comfortable job, far removed from the battlefield and combat. A place where service and duty could endure, even as a Stag-Knight healed, or trained a new stag - both, in Gala's case. Caring for and training a newborn stag, the only offspring of her wife's stag, and slowly recovering, Gala watched over her charge with great devotion. She watched over her handmaids, too, finding solace in her natural instinct to protect, becoming a constant presence in Gilia's life.

🌿 One day, when Gala looks at Gilia, smiling in the sunlight with her handmaids, flowers in her hair and the salt of the sea mist around them, she thinks to herself: there is no one in this world more beautiful, more kind, more loving, than her. No one comes close. No one at all, and suddenly, Gala can't maintain the lie to herself that the love she feels for Gilia is merely friendly. But she knows the cultural rules. To be with Gilia (if Gilia even wanted her that way), one of them would have to give up their titles, their way of life: either Gilia would have to abdicate her throne, or Gala would have to lay down her sword and swear non-violence for the rest of the days. The cost was simply too high - how could she even think of asking that of Gilia? How could she ever hope to protect her, sworn from combat? Who would she even be? So Gala has stayed silent on her enduring love, in her years of service. Achingly so.

⚔️ Torn apart and broken hearted after five years of loyal service, never being able to stop her yearning, when her commander asked at long last for her to leave her post and return to the battlefield for a time, Gala answered her call. She needed to remove herself. And not long after she did, taking advantage of her absence, an assassination attempt left Gilia permanently wounded and nearly killed. So Gala returned, none dared stop her return to Gilia's service, and now? Now, no one will lay a hand in harm on Gilia ever again. That is her vow, that is her promise, that is her life's only purpose. No matter the cost, no matter the pain, no matter her own feelings and desires, Gala swore that this would never happen again, ever, not as long as she still draws breath.

Gala's monster form is, at it's poetic surface, a dark reflection of her devotion to Gilia St. Loe, a devotion so deep she has willingly drowned herself in duty.

So it is best described as this: a deep sea horror. Unknowable and dangerous, part ethereal beauty and part unfathomable horror, Gala's monster form is dark, inky, a not-quite siren creature with octopus-like tentacles, a jaw that can unhinge to allow razor sharp teeth to rend both flesh and bone, and hauntingly beautiful bioluminescent tendrils and spots all over her body - especially concentrated in her human form's scars. So much of her becomes dark, but these glowing pieces stand out, and when she is fully transformed, one part of her glows brighter than the rest - her heart, glowing from within her ribcage, her skin turning translucent like deep sea fish, parts of her human bones and organs visible in the way she glows. Her vision becomes poorer the deeper she slips into her monster form, culminating in a light sensitivity so severe that nearly any form of light is damn near blinding. At her worst, Gala will also feel as though she is drowning - yet she'll never actually asphyxiate.

While her natural powers slip away, she will adopt powers more similar to her beloved Gilia's. Variable control over water, underwater breathing capabilities, ability to withstand deep sea pressure, and sensitive senses in place of her poor sight, combined with the hunger of a starving hunter, will make her a dangerous predator if too much of the transformation takes over her.