Maki - Indieville

Name: Maki 

Age: ???????????? old.

Gender: Demi-girl - Accepts she/them

Orientation: blonde hair, blue eyes, long walks on the not-beach

Species: Tree Ghost

Height: 5'7"

Class: Cleric  

Items: Two cold medicines, a rusted wedding band, a box of bells.

Job: Tree

Likes: The great outdoors, long walks, being a nuiscence, cute people ; )

Dislikes: Snow, people digging up her roots.

Personality: Mysterious, mischevious. Seeing as they can appear to whomever they want as long as they are in range of the tree, it's hard to catch them off guard. Either way, they are rather confident in themselves, and don't mind something to chat about to fill the void in their immortal life.

History: A long time ago there existed an extraordinary tree. That no matter what season it was, or what the weather was - it remained blooming a brilliant pink and overflowing with powers. 

The tree would eventually come known by a collection of names - with the most common being the "Spirit Tree". People would figure out it was a tree that acted as a border between life and death, and contained incredibly strong supernautral powers within it. Guardians of this tree soon emerged, Maki being one of those. She was next in line to inherit the head guardian of the tree title ; but in the small village that lived around the grand tree the woman was beautiful as she was feared. She gained the nickname of 'the storyteller'; rumours spreading that she could say a story and it would come tree, or that any tales she told contained spiritual magic behind them that she stole from the tree. 

A plauge soon spread across the land that stole the lives of many, which would only empower the tree. People figured every time a new flower bloomed it meaned someone had died, if one fell, another person died. Coming near the tree would just make you feel sick. People turned their anger towards the extraordinary tree; which lead to protesting. The guardians wouldn't allow for the destruction of the tree, knowing if so something terrible was to befall all of the land. After some dicussion these protesters left the village entirely. 

It wasn't until months later that some foreigners from a far away land came and made themselves at home in the village - having heard rumours of the tree and saying they were here to study it.

That was the beginning of the end.

One of the sons of these people was wondering by himself when he had stumbled into Maki escaping from her guardian preperation duties. It was what they would later describe as the red sting of fate finally meeting on both ends. It was love at first sight, Maki dragging the male - whom was called Vance - around the town, and taking him out to see all the beautiful land surronding the village. They would trade stories; Maki telling her tales whilst he would tell her ones of his own. Their relationship was never a secret, Maki being a show off and gossip herself - the townspeople and foreigners knowing all about the twos very public relationship. 

The two continued to be in love for many months, the foreigners eventually settling in as townsfolk entirely themselves. Vance was unawares of his father's true intentions, thinking they had all travelled there to research the oddity that was the tree. Although he soon found out they were planned to chop it down - and destroy whatever powers it held. Panicking, he confided in Maki, who then told her family and the guardians. A battle quickly ensured overnight, the Guardians attempting to shove the foreigners out of the town whilst they fought back to stay. In the mess of it all, Vance and Maki both hid by the tree in question, the male proposing to the young woman.

"I'll come back for you - they don't trust me - but I know you do, and I'll come back for you once it's settled."

"I'll wait here for you, Vance - just please, escape and get to safety - we'll wed once you return, yes?"

In the dark of night, Vance escaped, his family and himself taking their own different paths. Maki, keeping true to her word and to the promise they made, starting to wait under the tree. Despite many people's efforts, Maki would end up sitting there, waiting for days. This would drag into months, and soon into a few years. She would barely eat or sleep, whispers going around that spending too much time near the Spirit tree was causing it's powers to rub off on her. Angering the woman would make you cursed, or making her depressed would mark you for death. Eventually, she ended up starving to death, her body still sitting under the tree as she quietly passed away one night. 

Once she was found the next day, the townsfolk buried her underneath the tree, severing her head from her body in vague attempts to hope her soul wouldn't come back and haunt them. This was all for naught, as the bond she had with the tree was incredibly powerful and strong, roots growing around her body and taking her corpse into part of the tree.

A plauge swept by. There were 5 survivors including a young child who would carry on the Guardian legacy. No one else in the town would ever figure out what would cause the second sweeping; nor did they live to tell their tale.

---

Flashforward to several hundred years in the future; and a collector of oddities would hear of this tree. A tree sitting in the middle of an abandoned town that didn't stop blooming flowers no matter the seasons or weather. People who protected this tree had long died out, and taking advantage of the fact it was just 'sitting' there, the tree and all its roots were taken out of the ground, transported overseas and planted in the garden of this collector. He would keep it for months, although his hired staff would comment about seeing a figure sitting in the branches of the tree, or that someone was watching them as they passed by. The collector would attempt many times to find this figure himself; but nothing would ever appear. Soon enough, his staff would start to get sick, coughing up what were flower petals. All the blame was pointed at the cursed tree which had caused nothing but unrest with everyone. 

Once the sickness reached the collector himself; Maki finally appearing in front of him, cursing him to death if the tree was not moved. It was disrespectful to move such a powerful being from it's resting place, and she wasn't pleased in the slightest. Knowing there was no point in fighting against something that could kill him in one day if it desired, the collector decided to get rid of the tree. He rushed to try and get it back to it's original home - which in the while had been reconstructed into the start of a new, small town, the grounds the tree rested on gone completely for new housing. Panicking - he spend days thinking of a second option, catching wind of a strange town called 'Indieville' which oddites and the supernatural were attracted too. 

As a kind 'donation' to the town - the collector sent the tree over to it, which was then planted in the corner of the park. At first Maki was enraged that she had been betrayed in such a way; although now she's been there for a good 3 years, and she's finally decided to talk to the strange townsfolk the place is filled with. Maybe someone would like to talk to the magical tree which doesn't stop blooming, no matter the weather or season.

(overall - 15/15)