Project Spellcheck: Introducing Luna Levinia

LADY LIGHTNING

Every so often, tales arise from the Dryad Frontier of a self-made explorer and magician that prowls amongst the brigands and beggars. Some say she’s on quest for power, glory, vengeance, or some other vain agenda, while others believe her to be a treasure hunter in search of loot and artifacts. Many are the names sung by the tavern crowds and cried from the tongues of the tragedy-struck—Lady Lightning, The Raven Bolt, Stormwhip—but few are those who know the true name of this illusive traveler: Luna Levinia

The story prior to her arrival to Lancet’s furthest fringes is a silent one composed almost solely of hearsay and whispers. The most common legend tells of a girl-turned thief, abandoned and self-raised in the hindmost alleys of Cindrel, working for local gangs and crime bosses before turning tail for the shanty towns. When Luna caught wind of the story, she gave but an amused laugh and said “Some of the truth is in there—I’ll leave it to you to fish out.”

If you would even risk coming within arm’s reach of this legendary outlaw, however, do so with extreme caution. Luna prides herself as being as mysterious as shadow and sharp as a traitor’s blade, and behind those unassuming bedroom eyes, one may find a heart baring the intensity of thunderclouds—and the power to unleash magic lightning to match.

WHO IS LUNA LEVINIA?

Of the cast of main and supporting characters, Luna serves as the expert lightning magician, bringing a no-holds-barred flair to an otherwise elegant and ranged form of power. Combining street smarts with entrepreneurial magical know-how create a sparkling spectacle, her signature moves often involve long-reaching whips of concentrated electricity. In some ways, her allegedly self-made origins give her some common ground with Meeko, but unlike the perky boy magician, Luna’s had far more time to master her craft—and the thought of sharing anything, be it knowledge, tricks, or plunder, rarely ever occurred to her.

Generally, you’ll find Luna to have a very mellow personality. While not afraid to speak her mind with a holier-than-thou dabble of sarcasm, she rarely prefers upfront confrontation; more likely, she’ll find some snappy way to shoo you off and be on her way. When the moment calls for making a scene, however, You can trust Luna to deliver a bewildering start and a rapid end to any skirmish, with the blink-fast, storm-infused rushing-down one might expect from a magically-inclined scrapper.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Luna Levinia is the manifestation of two separate, yet ultimately convergent mission statements: “magic lightning powers” and “alluring, roguish sorceress.” The sly persona came naturally with the latter, while the former provided the opportunity to bury a far more intense personality just below the surface. Although I was content with a simple “treasure hunter” motif at first, I later figured that a thief background and a more streetwise personality (by fantasy standards, at least) would give her a little more identity.

Appearance-wise, her most consistent trait, aside from being capable of both easygoing and enraged expressions with the flip of a switch, is slightly wavy pitch-black hair tied in a long, thick ponytail. The idea is that while the haircut on its own would give some suaveness to the character, there could be the added gimmick of the ponytail raising on end and becoming sharp and jagged—perhaps even in the shape of a lightning bolt—in moments of proper anger or excitement while using her power (think Hades from Disney’s Hercules and how his fire-hair would intensify when angry).

The tricky part, though, comes with trying to design or even describe the kind of outfit Luna might wear. For one, I want to make sure I’m not retreading on any aspects of Violet’s design, given that they’re both crime-bred characters with some aura of majesty and a penchant for concealing smiles. Given that she’s significantly younger and more agile, something lightweight and flexible would be suitable. The specifications of such clothing, however, have not been cemented beyond some general ideas such as detached sleeves and boots of at least respectable height. Until I’m able to put it through the wringer with a (friend’s) sketch or two.

(UPDATE 3/20/2023: Luna Levinia’s concept art, courtesy of Koseki, has been added to the blog post!)

MORE TO COME…

Thanks again for tuning in! It’s interesting to talk more about characters that don’t have as solidified a concept as others (at least from a design point of view), but talking about it helps me figure out what I want to do while seeing a consensus or perhaps even some suggestions as to what might be good to add, remove, or change.

As always, your viewership and support is greatly appreciated, and I’ll look forward to sharing the next of these sorts of posts with you sometime soon!