Willow Whiteheart
Willow Whiteheart
(Real Name Kira Nerys Scallish; any/all)
Is the President for the Realm of Sanctorium and The Lyres Guild as well as one of the founders of the Unit Misfit Syndicate.
"Can I get a 'huh-yeah'" - Willow............... EVERY. DANG. BARDIC.
They are known for the following:
- President of the Lyres' Guild
- President of Sanctorium
- Head of Hospitality (Armageddon)
- MC for Bardic (Armaggedon)
- Teacher of Character Development and Lore Building
Being an agent of choas
LORE
In game
Leaving the Sea
Willow grew up on the pirate ship "The Obsidian Rose." They are Captain Petal's daughter. They started as the ships shanty man but then became the only person Captain Petal thought would be a good Bosun of the ship. She raised her daughter to be a the bringer of discipline. Willow trained for years until their 16th birthday where they became the ships official Bosun.
Willow remained in this position for eight years, but it never felt right to them. The sea never called to them like the forests did. Eventually, they wanted to find they own path and left the Obsidian Rose, with their mother's blessing to start anew.
Willow left at port, taking their best mate, Jareth (a goblin), with them. They travelled inland, meeting a mismatched group of wanderers known as "Skylark Enclave." This group, ran by Lyric Skylark allowed Jareth and Willow to travel with them for awhile.
One night Jareth was murdered by mistake, sending Willow into a depression. He was mistaken for a different goblin, and the Halfling, Noctis, promised he would do what he could to replace the life he had mistakenly taken.
Misfit Syndicate
Willow and Noctis eventually parted ways from the Skylark Enclave and met up with some circus performers who had a strange, yet useful set of skills. They ended up forming "Misfit Syndicate." This ragtag group of Misfits and performers, with a variety of skills for hire. They do performing and mercenary work. They began taking work and travelling. This group began spreading across the reaches and beyond Belegarth and is more of a working group that gathers from time to time.
Willow ended up making a "home" for Misfit Syndicate, where they settled down in the Realm of Sanctorium. They are the book keeper for the files while Pandora is the captain giving tasks now.
Settling in Sanctorium
Willow found Sanctorium through a friend they made at an event, Toric Toragir. He was another leader of a group of mercenaries for hire. They bonded over shared experiences both personally and professionally since they were both at one point pirates, experenced loss, and had similar jobs as the head of their group.
Toric introduced Willow to leaders within the Realm and they quickly felt at home. Very shortly after, Toric and Willow finding themselves enjoying one another's company so wholly that becoming partners and then moving in together. This lead Willow to moving to the Realm of Sanctorium.
Since settling in the realm, Willow began searching for their paternal lineage, one of which they never knew who or what. They knew they were born with two hearts, one that beats and the other is cold and dormant. They know they long for beauty, magic, music, and loves love. They know that since they have travelled the land they feel most at ease around the misfits, the monsters, and the faire folk. They believe they are some sort of half fae.
Willow since has become integrated into the realm of Sanctorium, taking on leadership roles and representing the realm across Belegarth through volunteer work and networking.
Willow also became the president of their Realm shortly after being appointed President of the Lyres' guild. They have since been putting in the puzzle pieces to officially making their realm a voting realm of Belegarth.
Founding the Lyres'
Willow found their way through the world in music. They began performing again, starting with shanties they learned on the ship, and this grew into learning new pieces and creating their own stories. They began taking charge of Bardic events like bardic circle and competitions. After much talk in the world of needing a place for Bards to thrive Willow thought long and hard about what a group of Bards might look like.
One day while flipping through an instrument codex, Willow was struck with 'Bardic inspiration'. They passed by an instrument that had not crossed their mind, the Lyre, which when used in orally could have multiple meanings. They then began planning the Lyre's Guild, inviting other bards to add their thoughts and talents to the effort. Eventually they began shaping a system of support for bards of all performing arts.
Since Willow has been put in charge of the group, despite their reluctance to take on the responsibility as the president of the guild. Since the group has began shaping itself into a group of supporters supporting each other. A community of Bards that has become Willow's pride and joy.
Performing History
Since birth Willow sang. Since youth Willow was able to pick up instruments and memorize soliloquies with little effort. Willow was a born performer. They love nothing more than sharing stories and talent with the world.
From youth, Willow sang sea shanties to keep morale on the ship up, their favorite being "Swing a Cat." A song about Sailors and their cat companions removing rats from the ship. They spun tales of the monsters lurking in the deep as well as the boy who never aged who came to rescue children "who fell out of their carriages while the nurses were looking the other way." When visiting port they found themselves in many a tavern singing songs and playing music on their flute and whistles. They loved all of it.
However, when they left the ship to venture out on their own they experienced something they hadn't before. An anxiety of performing and messing things up. Performing went from effortless to a chore they needed to complete to continue to have food by the fire. They stopped for awhile. Lyric Skylark motivated Willow to try again, and when it was just them with the members of the enclave it was fine, but in front of strangers it was as if their world flipped. They forgot words to songs they sang millions of times on the ship. They began spiraling and stuttering out words. They began to hate it.
Then they took a break from performing and focused on other artistic outlets like story writing and painting. They began doing other jobs like working and understanding the behavior and culture of different types of beings. This allowed them to peak into their own sense of self and see how their behavior had changed since leaving the ship. How their life had changed. They reflected on love and loss. Though they yearned for the land, at times they missed the sea, yet the sea had nothing new to give them anymore. They lost loves and friends. At one point they felt they had lost themselves.
Eventually, they turned this into motivation for their art. They began performing again, starting with small tavern nights and bardic circles (often indulging in liquid courage before hand). Then they took over being the master of ceremonies for Armageddon's Bardic Competition, where they found their voice again. They found they did well with improv and working with crowds. They always thought they were a serious performer who stuck to rigid routines and songs. They truly found that with change and improv they blossomed into something new. They began singing again, but adding their own elements into every piece, making it their own. They studied different types of music to understand the patterns and styles of varying cultures.
Their husband, Toric Toragir, encouraged them to sing more, to play more, to be themselves. To flourish in the environment that began blossoming around them.
Willow reconnected with Lyric Skylark again. The one person at the beginning of the fog that assured them that this was okay, making the mistakes and messing up music was fine. They eventually began a partnership in more than just their musical compatibility and became partners as both musicians and life. Starting a group that will be known as "Fantasitical Fae."
Now
Willow travels often, but has officially made a home for them and their family in the Realm of Sanctorium. They have built things they are proud of that they may not have been able to achieve since leaving the ship. They have made friends, had partners, gotten married, watched their husband get knighted, and built a legacy they hope outlives them.
They teach others how to create beautiful stories, but also how to form themselves as a person. They teach them how to utilize the parts of themselves they do not understand and make it a strength to embrace, not a weakness to shut out.
Willow's story is still shaping. They still do not know their paternal lineage. They still do not know where they will end up. At the end of the day, those stories will unfold themselves in time.
Real-Life History and Information
With their parents, Willow began in the foam fighting community in the early 2000s. They were young and dubbed initially "Katerina" after the Shrew in Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew." in 2010 they changed their name and persona to Willow Whiteheart.
After seeing the community change for the better over the years, Willow continues to advocate for the inclusivity of all, from skills on and off the field to personal abilities. This may be due to their nature as someone who works in specialized education and a former home "therapist" (labeled Technician) for kids with Autism. Currently in college, she is working toward a degree as an Intervention Specialist with some classes in American Sign Language.
Why does Willow not take the field?
What a great question... We will use their mundane information for this.
Kira used to fight in an old game. They arched and attempted to fight in small increments, however they are not the most coordinated, so tended to fight siblings and others their own age. They only took the field to arch in a couple of cases, but felt overwhelmed at the scope and the way people fought, so kept it pretty restrained.
In 2021 Kira was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease in their spine and needed surgery to remove a piece of a prolapsed disc that pushed into their spinal chord and nearly paralyzed them. Their doctor said that without a "replacement" disc (which were only being tested at the time medically) trauma to that part of my spine could lead to even more issues because there is little room between the two vertebrae and the disc around them are already bulged to compensate for the lack of disc in between l4 and l5 . The best option for them would be to stay off the field to reduce risk of further injury to their spine, especially when their condition is advanced for their age.
(*Note from Willow/Kira* In other words my doctor said that according to my MRI my spinal health is that of someone in their mid-late 50s, not someone in their mid-late 20s)
Due to the advanced DDD as well as the nerve damage in their right side from where the disc began to cut into the spinal chord, they are not physically capable of taking certain blows, especially when you cannot expect everyone to know not to hit you there.
On top of that, they have another disorder that has been causing them to break out into hives and anaphylaxis where they occur certain factors including but not limited to:
- Red meat and pork
- Shellfish
- A variety of perfumes (Unsure of scents currently)
- Rapid drops in temperature
- Sweating
- Prolonged exposure to heat and direct sunlight (Must wear high SPF sunscreen and have UV blocking clothing)
In summary, it's not safe for them. for health reasons.
Another reason is leadership. Being in leadership positions allows them to help where other people wish to partake in the battles. It allows a free spot someone may have had to sacrifice tome from things they wished to do and puts someone who has the time to do it in their place.
On the Brightside... They can use the allergies to play into their fae lineage!
Overview
Realm
Unit
Positions (Chronological Order)
- Captain's Daughter (Obsidian Rose-unit) [2000-2005]
- Ship Shanty-man (Obsidian Rose-unit) [2005-2010]
- Bosun (Obsidian Rose-unit) [2010-2018]
- Founder (Misfit Syndicate-unit) [est. 2019]
- Captain (Misfit Syndicate-unit) [2019-2023]
- Administrator (Return to Moria- event) [2021-2024]
- Stand in book-keeper(Sanctorium- realm) [2022]
- Head of Bardic at Armageddon (event) [since 2023]
- Book-Keeper (Sanctorium- realm)[2023-2025]
- Head of Hospitality (Armageddon- Event) [since 2025]
- President (Lyres - Group) [since 2025]
- President (Sanctorium-realm) [Since 2025]
Partners
- Toric Toragir (Nesting/ Spouse)
- Lyric Skylark(Nesting)
- Berenor
- Lilly Fireheart