Contest:Character Theme Contest/Terra Highland- Mirame's Entry

Terra Highland
Basics= Name: Terra Birdie Highland

'''Nicknames: Birdie

Gender: Female

God Parent: Khione

Species: Demigod

Mortal Parent: Henry Robertson Bowers

Age: Biologically 17, chronologically 110 (Born in 1908)

Personality: Terra hold herself in modest esteem as much as she can. Used to the ideals of the earil 1900's, she find it a scandal to wear pants or show much skin. Naturally cheerful in the face of the unknown, she sometimes finds it difficult to make friends. Much like her father, Terra is known for her toughness, dependability, and cheerfulness. She is transparently simple, straightforward, and unselfish and tries her best to be a good person. She does not often get pop culture reference and still has some old prejudice which she hold in her heart.

Weapons: CB sword that turns into a silver ring, which she wears around her neck as a pendant. Appearance= Model: Hannah Murray  History= Terra's father was the famous Henry Bowers, also known as Birdie. Bowers joined Robert Falcon Scott's Terra Nova expedition in 1908. He had no previous polar experience, but was recommended to Scott by the ex-President of the Royal Geographical Society, Sir Clements Markham, who had been the main organizer of Scott's earlier Discovery expedition.

While in New Zealand, about to leave on a ship to the Antarctic, Bowers was drinking late in a tavern, where he was approached by a beautiful looking woman, who grace and beauty compared to the wonders of snow. Enchanted (and also pretty toused), they spent the night together. When he awoke, she was gone. Although disappointing, he went on the journey none the less.

What Birdie did not know was that the woman was Khione, who became pregnant as a result of their affair. Khione had no mortal parent to give her child to. When Terra was born, Khione appeared to Birdie near the South pole, on one leg of the trip when he was collecting Empire Penguin eggs. Khione showed Birdie his daughter, and Birdie fell in love with her at first sight. However, he believed that he was seeing a hallucination from being out in the cold so long. He thought he was seeing the future or the present. Birdie held his daughter fr the first and last time and called her his "Terra miracle", after the journey he was on. Khione took Terra from Birdie and disappeared into to snow, never to see Birdie again.

Khione dropped Terra off in America, in an New York orphanage late in 1908, wrapped in nothing with a blanket and a note calling her Terra.

Terra spent her formative years in the orphanage, surrounded by other children. Christian ideals were instilled in her head, focusing on modesty,chastity, and charity. Khione was still vaguely interested in Birdie, and watched his finally journey. In his last days, they traveled, progressing 20 miles more, but were stopped 11 miles short of the next food depot by a blizzard on 20th of March, 1912. The blizzard continued for days, longer than they had fuel and food for. Too weak, cold and hungry to continue, they died in their tent on or soon after 29 of March, 1912. Khione was saddened, and as a silent promise to the man who loved his daughter so much, she would make sure to take care of Terra.

So Terra grew up in New York City, attending church and taking care of the other kids at the orphan. She received very, very basic school, just simple math and reading and writing, up to a third grade education. By the time she was 9, she was used to hard work. She left school in order to help out at the home and the nuns who ran the orphanage.

However, when Terra was 12 the orphanage was accidentally destroyed when a fire was lit in the kitchen and went out of control. Now with children and now place to put them, the head Nun, Sister Mary, sent the older children on trains out west, on something known as the Orphan Train on to farms to live and work. Terra was joined by 40 other orphans, chaperoned by four adults on the train. They were put on display at each stop in theaters so families could check them out. Families interested in "adopting" a would thoroughly examine each child -- from physical shape to teeth -- as if they were livestock.

Terra traveled across the country on her own, motion sick from the train and too scared to talk to any other children. When they finally a small rural town in Michigan, a young couple showed an interest in her, Mary and Gregory Highland. After inspecting her, they adopted her from the train and took her to their farm. Mary had just had a child, a small baby and was with another, so Gregory needed a farmhand and Mary needed a nanny.

To the joy to Terra, Mary and Gregory were extremely kind to her, better than some of the other kids who she had seen on the train. She was treated as their daughter and for the first time Terra had parents. Terra did her best and worked very hard, balancing taking care of the children and working on the farm.

At the age of 13, a year after arriving on the farm, she was attacked by a monster. A hell hound had picked up her scent and went after her when she was out as dusk settled on the farm, letting in the chickens for the night. She had just closed the coop's door when she heard a growling behind her. Terra turned around and saw the hell hound, it's glowing red eyes bent for blood.

Terra screamed, getting the attention of Gregory who was nearby int he field. Terra took off running, but the hell hound shadow traveled in front of her. The hell hound tried to jump on her, but was distracted by a gun shot. Gregory had taken his shotgun and had shot the beast, who Gregory saw as a large wolf. Terra scrambled up the nearest tree as Gregory yelled at her to run, shooting the beast again with his shot gun. The beast was distracted again, but went to the tree, still trying to get Terra. Terra was terrified and prayed to God for help. However, Khione heard her prayers.One second, Terra was up in a tree in her work clothes, the next a sword at appeared in her hands.

Terra felt power rush through her and she leaped from the tree, sword point down, landing a solid strike on the hound's back. The hell hound turned to dust as Terra fell to the floor.

Terra was shaking and completely freaked out. As Gregory ran up to her to see if she was okay, the sword turned into a silver ring. Terra grabbed and shoved it in her pocket, believing it a gift from God and not her mother.

The next day, Terra was allowed to sleep in to recover from her fright and she pulled the ring out. She believed it a sign from above and decided to keep it, not before issuing her thanks to the heavens. Things slowly went back to normal. Mary gave birth to another child and became with child again when Terra was 16. There had been no more attack out in the middle of nowhere, and for a child of such a minor goddess Terra was pretty safe on the far. However, this was not an easy pregnancy, and Mary went into labor much too early. The baby was not being born headfirst, but legs first, making things worse.. Gregory left in the night to grab a doctor from the nearest town, a few miles away as Terra struggled to help her adoptive mother. By the time Gregory came back, it was too late. Mary had lost too much blood and passed away as her baby took it's first breath. The child was still alive, a baby girl, when he doctor came, but died a few hours later, unable to survive.

Gregory was heartbroken. He began to drink to get over his grief of loosing his wife and child. Terra did her best to take care of the other children and the farm, but it was hard for a young girl too do. Gregory was no longer the kind and gentle man she had met when she was 12, he was a man of death and grief.

One early winter morning as Terra rose and was dressing, she hear a gunshot. The another. Terra, frightened, went to see where the sound was coming from. Gregory stood, completely drunk, over the bodies of his children whom he had killed in a fit of madness. Terra screamed in horror and Gregory turned to her. Terra ran outside but was caught by Gregory. There was a struggle, and Terra was shot in the stomach. She fell into the snow, back down. Gregory went inside, took another shot of whiskey, and turned the gun on himself. Everyone was dead. But Terra.

Terra was still alive.

She was in so much pain. The snow fell gently around her as tears streamed down her cheeks, her hands trying to stop the bleeding in her mid section. She cried and pleading to the heavens. She pleaded for her life. And her mother heard her.

As the snow fell around her, Khione turned her daughter into a delicate snowflower and took her to her father's kingdom in Canada, where Terra stayed for nearly a century. Finally, after Khione fought the demigods and fled, Boreas found the snowflower. He could tell it was his granddaughter. He could feel the pure goodness that just radiated out of her, and he decided to give her another chance. He turned Terra back into human form to discover she had not aged, but had healed. Terra was unconscious when she was turned back into human form, and Boreas asked a nymph who served under him to take her to camp. The nymph did, and brought Terra to the camp infirmary where she woke up, extremely confused. It took a lot of convincing on the camps' part to explain to her what happened (as far as they knew) and what time she was in. Thus, Terra Highland began her life in a different century.