(Feel free to continue from this first post in a PM with a response! I am not staunch in sticking to whatever has been posted already in the thread below it. I want to see all ideas play out, so whatever you have to offer this character, bring it! :))<br/><br/><a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.app.goo.gl%2FQTuTxQwmtPEEvsK58&amp;hash=47d25b5e9a1038b5f0a7f50b1a526dad" href="https://images.app.goo.gl/QTuTxQwmtPEEvsK58" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">Victoria</a>was an archaeologist, an explorer of distant lands and a seeker of all things unexplained. She reveled in the thrill of discovery, and among these dunes was the discovery of a lifetime. Having come across a map back in town at a local bazaar, she’d been able to acquire it at a fairly cheap price, the peddler likely believing it to be trash. But one man’s trash was another man’s treasure, and treasure it Victoria did. It would have been foolish not to at least look into the legitimacy of it for herself.<br/><br/>As she traversed the sands atop her camel, her eyes remained ever focused on her map, looking up only to check her compass and her surroundings for anything that would designate she was closing in on the desirable find. The sweltering heat of the afternoon sun was boring down upon her, proving the trek difficult even with the camel doing most of the work for her. Every few seconds her brow had to be wiped of its sweat with a handkerchief she’d kept in her pocket just to keep it from pouring down into her eyes or over her nose and onto the parchment in her hands.<br/><br/>It had been hours before she began to wonder if perhaps she’d actually been a fool for making this attempt of a goose chase. The sun had already begun its descent, and she motioned for her camel to turn around, only for something strange to shine in the light of the dusk and catch her attention. Her necklace, a small golden pendant in the shape of two crescent moons facing back to back, inside each moon were two small red rubies. It had been given to her by her mother when she was very young, passed down from her mother before, and her mother before that. She never knew of any story behind it, but that mystery is only what made her more attached to it, besides its familial link. Yet now, the appeal in its mystery only seemed to grow, for it began to glow brightly in the soft illumination of the setting light. What did it mean?<br/><br/>Victoria dismounted her camel and lifted the trinket up towards the horizon. The glow only seemed to swell, forcing her to shield her eyes with her other hand and turn away. Then, as if to answer her question regarding what it meant, in that same moment the ground beneath her began to quake. The camel had run off in fear, but she remained, wanting to witness what was to come. Unfortunately, not much would she witness as the sand beneath her sank, taking her with it, into a pit that had opened up under her feet.<br/><br/>So she fell, into darkness, screaming in terror for her life. And yet, she did not get hurt. Somehow, her descent was slower than she realized, for despite how long it had taken her to fall for that height, she landed softly on her feet when she reached the bottom, as if it was a smooth parachute glide down. Immediately her hands began patting down her entire form, her breath quick and heart rate erratic. The confusion was clear on her face, certain that she should have been dead from that fall, but no such demise would she be met.<br/><br/>Once satisfied that she was indeed alive and well, she inhaled deeply to calm herself. The air was musty and old. The darkness was thick as the hole she had fallen from was far too high above her to provide any light, even if it wasn’t already evening. Her necklace, however, still shone with some semblance of brightness. And as she took steps forward, the glow would continue to swell again, but only as slowly, or as quickly, as she moved, as if it were leading her somewhere. Once that conclusion had come to her mind, the brunette wasted no time. If ever there was an adventure for her to pursue, this was it. The personal connection to her specifically to such a wondrous mystery was too tempting, it was glorious. And so, she ran, using the light of her pendant to ensure she did not trip on any debris or uneven stones as she went.<br/><br/>Through a labyrinth of hallways and doorways, left then right, after an indiscernible amount of time, her feet and pendant would bring her to a large stone room. Everything was clear to her as her necklace illuminated with the same brightness as a large spotlight or searchlight, revealing to her the room’s secrets wherever she pointed it. There was not too much of importance, save for in the middle. Standing from the ground and shooting straight up almost three or four stories high was a statue of some form of goddess. It was beautiful, carved in stone, like a woman adorned in elegant robes and a face filled with wisdom and courage, staring down upon any who would approach her. The height felt intimidating, but Victoria only looked up in awe and reverence. Is this where her necklace had been leading her? Is that what she was meant to see?<br/><br/>She approached the pedestal at the statue’s base. It looked more to be a box...perhaps a coffin. The symbol upon its front matched the symbol of her pendant, with two rubies much the same as hers though much larger. She couldn’t hold back her curiosity as reached a hand towards the sigil. The moment her fingers touched the stone, however, it rumbled, bits and pieces breaking off of its edges, as the front face fell towards her. Victoria leapt back and yelled in surprise. She lifted her necklace back up to see what was hidden within, but the dust cloud created by the large stone made it difficult to make out anything, even with the aid of her magical mysterious light. However, the crimson shine did seem to resonate most strongly with whatever was inside, for it began to vibrate in her grasp the closer she moved to it. She had to know what it was.<br/><br/>Only once the dust cleared did she get a glimpse of what was there. It was...a man. Or rather, it used to be a man, as there seemed to be no skin left upon him. Dried up and withered to almost nothing, as if mummified but without the telltale wrappings. He was held up by his arms in chains, his wrists shackled to the top corners of the small tomb while the rest of his body and head hung limply below them.<br/><br/>Her curiosity was stronger than anything else within her, and she had to inspect him more closely. The thrill of being the first to finding such an amazing discovery, her heart was racing, blood rushing through her veins, and her breath was quick. Stepping over the debris and into the box with him, she began to examine every inch, trying to figure out how old he was, who he was, what this tomb was meant to be for as the chains and lack of preparation would mean he was not somebody of importance. Or rather he was somebody important, but likely far worse than any figure ever mentioned in history. She couldn’t know. As she inspected, there were a few details she’d miss: the few pointed teeth within his jaw.....and that he began to stir.<br/><br/>(he can be anybody you’d like. A fearsome leader, or an evil villain. He can be human with a curse, a vampire, a beast, whatever you want! I wanna see what this turns into :) and what is the purpose of the pendant passed down through her family I wonder? And what is its connection to him?)