Enigma
In a world splashed with unimaginable colors and teeming with mystical creatures, Enigma stands almost nondescript. Small in stature, blond hair cascading down her narrow shoulders and dark eyes that seem as if they carry the weight of untold stories. But it is the mask that adorns her, mysteriously guarding her mouth and nose that makes the townsfolk revere her, and fear her in equal measure.
Enigma belongs to a lineage as old as the surrounding hills. Her family, the Alda, have been instrumental in shaping incidents that are now immortalized by folk tales and nursery rhymes. The Aldas, though notorious for their potency in sorcery, have produced the likes of Bartholomew the Brave, the legendary revolutionary whose lore the young ones of the village still recount with deep fervor. Considered an illustrious scion of the enigmatic Alda clan, Enigma has however, carved out her own identity.
Her childhood was far from idyllic. In a chance encounter with a malevolent sorcerer when she was just but seven, Enigma was left to bear an unfortunate curse. A curse that transformed her otherwise sweet voice into a powerful, command wielding tool. Any who heard her utterments were compelled to follow them. While this may seem a gift to many, for the precocious little girl, it became a perennial source of trauma.
It was from these ashes of adversities that the persona of Enigma was born. She masked her face, vowing to keep her ungovernable power in check and in the process, cultivated an aura of caution around herself. Her zealous spirit led her to hone her magic into an occupation, becoming the healer of the village.
Her motive, derived from her own unsettling past, is to ensure others are not burdened by the unpredictabilities of magic. To support that, the villagers and she share an unspoken alliance built on trust and mutual respect. Among them, her closest companion is an affable baker named Finn. Finn is one of the few individuals who look beyond her mask and sees the kind-hearted soul beneath it.
Enigma, like any other individual, treasures dreams of personal fulfillment. A dream of unmasking herself, of using her voice and not invigorate law, but love. She longs for a companion, someone who'd not shudder at the mention of her forced command. This dream branches from a past regret, an unnamed villager she had held feelings for but was forced to ostracize due to her curse.
This tangled history coupled with a paradoxical present become a uniquely symbolic representation of Enigma. A free bird confined in a cage. She often feeds a specific flock of birds every morning, an act she regards as a symbol of her own longing for liberation. Her laughter while she sees them take flight is fleetingly genuine, almost a hint of the unmasked woman behind Enigma.
Living in a world carved by enchantment, her story is held in the whispered winds and venerated by birds in what seem like appraisals to her kindness. Being a subject of countless rumors, Enigma remains an enigma – the witch in the mask, the healer, the woman of many guises.