Rosalia

By That One Techpriest You Used To Know

• July 11, 2016

Age: 14

Gender: Female

Species: Unicorn

Appearance: Rosalia is a pale, lilac pink pony with white hair, decorated in a sole braid. She has ice-blue eyes that, despite their color, are very warm, and a diminutive body that looks exceedingly fragile. She wears a lightweight medical robe around her body, decorated with hearts that appear to have been elegantly drawn onto it.<br /><br />If one were to see her in person, this is all that one would know of her. However, upon a thorough inspection, one would discover numerous scars on the inside of her forelegs and- perhaps the most worrying thing of all- a section of her body, covered by the medical gown, of twisted, skinless flesh. This covers roughly half of her body an obscures her cutie mark on her right flank. In addition, she is extremely weak physically- on bad days, she can have trouble moving herself and has to rely on others, a wheelchair, or her magic- and anyone who comes up and makes physical contact with her will likely knock her out in one solid blow. However, she possesses significant magical power thanks to her malady, which allows her to manipulate her blood without injuring herself.

Cutie Mark: Rosalia's cutie mark is a droplet of blood, surrounded by a pink heart. The heart represents her caring, gentle demeanour, while the droplet of blood expresses her personal skill of hemomancy- the manipulation of blood; both hers and her opponent's.

Personality: Two adjectives describe Rosalia best- kind and paranoid. Having been chased for most of her life for various reasons that she does not understand, she finds herself naturally suspicious of most ponies at first. However, she is barely a mare- she is extremely kindhearted and gullible to you once you've sat in a room with her for a day or two. However, she tends to avoid crowds whenever she can reasonably do so.<br /><br />Rosalia is very grippy, for a lack of a better word. Once she's friends with you, she will do everything in her power to ensure that she is besides you 24/7, or at the very least as much as she can. Granted, she has been relying on others for as long as she's been alive, so this is almost instinctive behavior for her- she will not survive for long alone in any dangerous situation, as she can barely take care of herself when left in peace.

Backstory: Before one can explain the story of Rosalia, one must understand how and why the below story is relevant. Why her, many will ask? Well, the answer is very clear- a phenomenon of a organism known as the Rosalia Virus.<br /><br />The Rosalia Virus is a unique viral disease (as the name might suggest) that was created by a mutation of her bloodstream shortly after birth. Leaving her weak and sickly and ravaging her body, the virus was named after her upon discovery, as it was the only known case at the time in all of Equestria, and could not be identified by other means. However, this virus did more than destroy her physical genetics. The virus replicates by consuming cells of all types- blood cells, muscle tissue, neurons, et cetera. However, when the disease first incubated within her, her body absorbed and assimilated the virus, rendering her immune to it and quickly restoring her to at least the point of not being a complete invalid. This disease, due to it's nature, resulted in a huge advantage- all foreign substances of any sort inserted into the blood were quickly and carefully assimilated. The Virus wasn't just her curse, it was her blessing- she became immune to any sort of parasite, sickness, disease, or old age of any sort as the virus kept replicating itself from her body. If she were to die, it would be by the blade or the bullet.<br /><br />She was taken at a young age to a mysterious 'third party' lab for research to be conducted about her 'condition'. Shortly thereafter, the paperwork was filed and notifications were sent to her next of kin- the child had died. It is safe to say that they were lying through their teeth, but the government and her family bought it completely. A quiet funeral was held with the cremated ashes of dead rats, her name was struck from the registry, and after a few months of mourning, life returned to normal.<br /><br />Except for the fact that a young Rosalia was now being held in captive.<br /><br />Having been experimented on for most of her life, Rosalia at a young age consigned herself to a slow and bitter end, especially when they infused her innate magic with spirit energy, bleaching her skin and her hair to the point where only her skin and her eyes bore any resemblance of color. However, fortunately for her, the lab was not where her story ended. One night, a mysterious black-cloaked figure broke into the facility, eliminated half the staff members and guards one by one, before quietly kidnapping the sleeping girl and disappearing in a shadow. Needless to say, the head of the facility was furious.<br /><br />After Rosalia awoken, she immediately assumed that she was either dead or dreaming- how in the world is one drinking tea with a green ghost? However, the figure quickly corrected her, introducing himself as Agririon. Without explaining a thing, Agririon presented her three options. The first, he said, was the life of a soldier. She would learn the truth of her life, one painful sentence at a time, and Rosalia would be forever changed. She would enter the service of the Greater Powers- but it would cost her her soul in an eternity of alternating freedom and servitude. Much like himself, he commented. Her second option was to live a life eternally on the run. He would teach her how to harness her powers to the best of his ability and keep her from harm whenever possible, but she would be forever hunted by those who wished money, fame, or science at her expense. Finally, the third option, the figure said with a menancing stare, was to accept her fate immediately. The Rosalia Virus, he said, could not be allowed to roam freely without supervision. It had the potential to destroy all warm-blooded life on the planet except for her in the wrong hands, and had to be controlled.<br /><br />After a few minutes of consideration... Rosalia selected, trembling, the second option. She would remain under the protection of the strange figure and discover for herself her destiny. With a small nod, Agririon agreed, and, gesturing, took her into the next room...