Mirdia_

Your character has just arrived in a swampy, dim town. As they look around, their gaze is met with shacks and cabins. It smells of rotted wood and wet moss. They duck and step into a tattered tent, illuminated by a series of candles suspended in the air. At the back of the tent, an old hag raises her head, “What brings you to this dingy town? She begins, then pauses to study your face—”Ah, it’s you. I’ve been expecting you. Sit,” she gestures at a cushion, “Tell me your story.”

Vashti smoothes out the creases in her tan, calf-length skirt as she seats herself on the cushion, the corners of her lips curved into a gentle grin. "It's a pleasure to meet you, madam," Vashti regards her, nodding briefly before folding her hands in her lap, "Oh the usual. Dragons, knights, and glory, nothing worthwhile." Vashti waves her hand dismissively, satire having seeped into her tone accompanied by amused cadence to her tone for a brief moment. Then it vanished completely after a few moments, and her shoulders slump. "But it could very well be worthwhile, madam. That is, if you might be able to help me unveil the secrets between the stars and our eyes." Her gaze was trained on the woman, dimly-lit by a golden glow of candle flames. The reflection of every light's flickering being unwavering in form, almost hypnotic, much like how her voice sounded as she spoke further. "And I've got a feeling that you might be the only one capable of just that."

Vashti's Backstory:

A child of an affair between a gardener and esteemed scientist, Vashti Paradizo was born into the lives of people who were determined to make sure nobody ever learned of her true pedigree. Neither parent was fond of her as she posed an obstruction to both their lives considering the cultural shame accompanying circumstances like theirs, both becoming absent. Capable of discerning that she'd not been welcomed for many years, at 17 Vashti left on her own to take up minor jobs with meager pay to pave her own future, a path long ill-lit. Her most prized outfit is a pastel pink organza dress with a mauve shawl that she'd found torn near some washed up crates on the shoreline, to which she'd taken and repaired for herself. Vashti had taken everything from that same crate, and the other outfits make up the best of her wardrobe, even if she will likely never wear them, seeming too precious to her being the only items she owns of any value. She became more resourceful and crafty in this time, and after meeting so many people, grew fond of their stories. Despite this, she'd always longed to belong somewhere and feel apart of something. Her past experiences coupled with her desire to belong loomed above her mental state to the point of her deluded eyes having visions of words cast in patterns across stars, some nights telling her vague and brief directions or occasionally instruction. As time passed, Vashti's belief became that she would only find a place to belong when among the stars, and the only way to find peace and fulfillment would be to reach them herself. She became a vagrant in some sense, following the stars in hopes of them leading her around to places with information on how she could reach them, despite the fact that for her it's virtually impossible. This reasoning does not dissuade Vashti, and others are often unable to since she doesn't divulge her dreams to many. 

Vashti isn't typically the type that most might believe to be odd, but that's purposeful. She's vivacious and animated, a storyteller at heart with the drama to make that clear. Anyone is potential information, and she makes a point to be personable and sympathetic as to raise her chances of procuring something of use. But she often finds herself invested in whatever anybody is willing to divulge to her, and even grows quickly attached. Vashti deeply admires people from afar because she's under the impression that she'll leave everything behind someday to go and be with the stars when she figures out how to, even if she has no experience in any field remotely connected to something so advanced. Vashti isn’t the most self-reflective, ignoring her most pressing issues that impacts her behavior and perceptions, and she can be hypocritical in not taking her own advice. She's a good mediator between others, but stubborn in terms of herself, believing she has it all figured out and knows where to go. The reality is that she doesn't even have a clue, and she is deathly afraid of those around her figuring that out.

**Note about Vashti: None of her illusions of brief direction or instruction she sees in the stars(examples of it: Move forward, turn around, stay here) is anything remotely genuine with any merit or use, rather they are a hinderance that she has to face even if she doesn't know it. It's not a power, merely all in her head, and she will never get what she thinks she wants no matter who she seeks out to help her. Realistically, her goals are ridiculous, and unreachable. Vashti will have to learn to live with that and her disappointment, whether she may find that her sense of belonging should not have been rooted in the skies, rather among people, or withdraw completely. It should also be noted that Vashti's hallucinations are limited only to what she sees in the stars, and are the extent of what she deals with psychologically. But they do impact her behavior in the sense that it does shatter her belief that she was meant for something more in the end, which she is absolutely not. To provide a better idea of what Vashti deals with, it is akin to a false hope. She has deluded herself into believing there are letters strung together through the stars in the sky because of how deeply she wants to believe that what she thinks is true, and she will make leaps in logic to justify her irrational thinking. But she does not believe herself to be some kind of higher being or entity in any way shape or form, she just has impossible dreams and is naïve.