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[COLOR="#40E0D0"][B]Name:[/B][/COLOR] Aradeth Laenaren
[COLOR="#40E0D0"][B]Race:[/B][/COLOR] Human
[B][COLOR="#40E0D0"]Gender:[/COLOR][/B] Female
[B][COLOR="#40E0D0"]Age:[/COLOR][/B] 27
[B][COLOR="#40E0D0"]Appearance:[/COLOR][/B] Aradeth has golden-blonde hair which is cropped close to her skull. Her eyes are grass green. She has very little excess fat on her and is built athletically. Her expression is impassive and makes her appear somewhat intimidating. She is battle scarred, though usually the clothes she wears covers the scars. When she isn't in her armor, she’s usually in a long-sleeved, high-necked dark colored tunic and trousers.
[B][COLOR="#40E0D0"]Background:[/COLOR][/B] In the early years of her life, her country was at war, and had been for a long time. Caejas had been harrying their borders, and many young people travelled to the capital to join the army. Desae, Aradeth’s country, did its best to prevent war to no avail. The ongoing war was punctuated by a series of uneasy truces.
Aradeth was born in a border town during one of those short times of peace. Her town, Aldbush, had somehow remained untouched and apart from all the fighting. Unfortunately, that fragile peace was not to last. As the war drew closer to the border town, those with the means packed what they could and left. Aradeth’s father sold all of the belongings they could spare, and with it, bought a small cart and travelling supplies. They packed what they could, and sought refuge with their relatives. Better safe than sorry, they thought. They never made it that far.
They were set upon by bandits, who had been driven across the border by Caejas’ army. Aradeth’s father was killed, their belongings were taken, and she and her mother and younger brother were taken. The bandits hoped that the women and children would work as hostages, should they encounter Desae’s army or town militias. It didn't hurt that Aradeth’s mother was still young and not unattractive. That she had children was not a bad thing either. Why should one try to forcibly bed a screaming struggling woman, when one could have a willing, submissive one instead? A mother’s love was a beautiful thing.
In the end, it was not war, nor armies, nor militias that ultimately destroyed the bandits. It was disease. Aradeth’s mother, weakened by the physical, emotional, and mental strain from her “services” was one of the first to succumb. As more of the bandits sickened, weakened, and died, they desperately moved for the nearest town that was liable to possess a healer. They intended to forcibly obtain a healer. Unfortunately for them, the town had its own guard that had well-trained, able-bodied, healthy men in it.
The town guard pursued the bandits who survived the skirmish and eventually found their camp. There was another brief fight, and Aradeth and the other children were found and rescued. Aradeth, by some miracle, or perhaps by her mother religiously telling her what would happen when the bandits were gone, knew the name of her mother’s sister, and the village in which she lived. A message was sent and the wait began. Eventually, Aradeth’s mother’s sister, Aunt Lyran, arrived and took Aradeth and her brother back to her farm.
When Aradeth turned sixteen, she left to join the army. She wished to be able to earn a living and send money back to her family, but she didn't want to do it by settling down as a farmer's wife and breeding good babies. In training, she turned out to be a natural fighter and picked up the drills quickly. When they put her to archery, she turned out to be an amazing shot once she got the hang of using a bow. When her training was done and she was sent out to battle, she was put in the back with the archers. Her archery skills were worth more than her sword skills, but that didn't mean she let her sword skills go to waste.
During the war she met and befriended quite a few mercenaries. After the war and her stint in the army, she used recommendations from them to get into a good mercenary company, Warrum’s Wolves. They were a relatively well-known mercenary company, and were in good standing with the mercenary guild. She continued to send extra money back to her family during this time. She was in Warrum’s Wolves for a good six years when the countries finally settled down and there was peace and the mercenaries fell into some hard times.
Mercenaries enjoyed peace as much as the next guy, especially after a long hard season of fighting, but a peace that looked like it would last was bad for them. Mercenaries thrived on war. Peace didn't pay their wages or keep them fed. They ended up accepting a contract that they normally wouldn't have. They had never heard of their client, but he paid well, and there didn't seem to be any reason not to. His name was Dynroth Lianash. That was the last contract Warrum’s Wolves would ever accept.
The king of Dynroth's country died and had no heirs. Who would be next in line to the throne was unclear. Dynroth made a try for the throne, but the Earl had supporters backing him. According to him, it was rightfully his, and the Earl was an upstart rebel who would ruin the country. The Wolves would eventually find out that the earl was a better leader, who cared more about the actual people and those in his army. Dynroth was power hungry, higher ranked, and had more wealth. He could afford to hire a well-known mercenary company and a bunch of other people to go die in his bid for the throne.
Dynroth Lianash was a cruel, vicious, ruthless man. Civilians were not spared if they sided with Earl Erindale Dynah. He controlled with terror. If there was any resistance, then those who resisted were to be put to the sword. When the Wolves didn't kill every man, woman or child and burn the town to the ground, he sent his own men in to finish the job. The watching Wolves were reminded that there were things that were worse than death. They had done the people of the town no favors. In fact, it would probably have been a mercy to have just killed them instead of leaving them to Dynroth’s men.
The Wolves were honor-bound and oath-bound to obey their client. They had signed the contract and if they broke the contract, no one would hire them. Mercenaries who turned upon their employer would never be fully trusted by their potential employers. It didn't take long for them to detest their employer. They hated fighting for him, but they all lived by the mercenary code.
When their contracted term was nearly over, and talks of renewing the contract were to begin, the Wolves were relieved. Soon they would be free of this man. Perhaps they could even switch sides in this war. Warrum made it clear to Dynroth that they would not be renewing the contract. They were sent out on a job. They were to capture another town. It wasn't supposed to be anything that difficult. Unfortunately, they were ambushed. The ambush was perfect though, too perfect. Everything was set so neatly, as if their plans had been known in its entirety. Few, if any, of Warrum’s Wolves escaped alive.
The actions of the ambushers were too ruthless to be the enemy earl’s men and the numbers were overwhelming. It was as if they were ordered not to let a single Wolf escape alive. They were nearly completely successful at that. Those who were taken alive were as good as dead. Death would have been a kindness.
Aradeth was one of those who escaped. Whoever had wanted the destruction of Warrum's Wolves had done a good job. Perhaps her survival was more of a curse than a blessing. She did not return home after Warrum's Wolves were destroyed. She couldn't bear to bring her ghosts with her, and couldn't face her family haunted as she was. Some days she just wanted to drink away her sorrows, but she no longer had shield-brothers to watch her back while she was drunk. Some days she just wanted death, but rarely did anything happen to grant her a chance at death, and when it did, she couldn't bring herself to go down without a fight.
She met with a few others who survived, one had turned to drugs and drink to cope. Another had at least survived with her shield-mate who had lost his leg. One of their mages had escaped, and though they tried to see what happened to the captured, something continued to block him from finding their lost shield-brothers and shield-sisters. There were a few others who tried to continue on with their lives by joining another mercenary company or working on their own. Aradeth herself continued her mercenary lifestyle working for gem merchants and bringing in money to survive and buy better weapons and armor. She wandered from caravan to caravan travelling great distances into countries she had never heard of.
[B][COLOR="#40E0D0"]Personality:[/COLOR][/B] Aradeth is an experienced mercenary. She is practical. She follows the mercenary’s code and her own brand of honor. Aradeth is cold and keeps her distance. She is wary of others, perhaps enough to be considered paranoid. She is flexible and will listen to other ideas. She is normally a rational woman.
[B][COLOR="#40E0D0"]Occupation:[/COLOR][/B] Former member of a mercenary company called Warrum’s Wolves which was last contracted to Dynroth Lianash.
[B][COLOR="#40E0D0"]Power: [/COLOR][/B]
[I][B]Fetching[/B][/I] – the ability to make small items go where she wants them, or make them move to where she wants them to move with the power of her mind. Essentially she can manipulate objects without touching them. Her fetching gift isn't strong enough to move people or large objects. She’s limited by size, weight, and distance of object. If she cannot see exactly what it is and where it is, she cannot move it. With practice, her fetching ability with her archery takes less concentration and is almost natural to her. It is what made her so good with ranged weapons.
[B][COLOR="#40E0D0"]Weapon:[/COLOR] [/B]
[LIST][*]Bow[*]Boot knife[*]Belt knife[*]Hidden knife on her back[*]A pair of knives in special sheaths that can be worn around the arm under the sleeves of a long-sleeved tunic. They have special releases that hold them secure until needed. They can be thrown. [*]Sword and a buckler made out of a very light material, but very strong and durable.[*]Six throwing knives.[/LIST]
[B][COLOR="#40E0D0"]Weakness:[/COLOR][/B] Fetching only works by line of sight, always try to keep things between yourself and her arrows. Attack her from behind if you can. She only has a limited amount of arrows. Once her arrows are broken or damaged, she can no longer use her bow for the longest ranges. Either that, or break her bow if you can. Jump her when she has drawn her bow and is aiming at someone or something. She won't be able to use her shield or sword to block, and probably will not be able to dodge.
Get up close and batter her as much as possible. Wear her out, and deliver the final blow. Batter her shield and numb her arm or dislocate her shoulder so she will be clumsier with it and block slower. Snipe the sniper. Go after her two against one or three against one or whatever if you have good team work. Pierce through the gaps in her armor to hurt her. If someone had a mace, send it crashing down on her skull. You can use the pommel of your sword or another other heavy object to give her a good crack to the skull. Slit her throat if you can or lop her head if you have the strength and are willing to risk chipping or blunting your weapon on her vertebrae. Catch her by off guard and kill her before she can draw her weapon if you can.
As a member or a mercenary company, she has been trained more in group tactics than single combat. Another thing is, she is a woman, and her physical strength won’t necessarily be as great as a man who has trained as much as her. She must make up for that with skill and speed. Break some bones to slow her down or stop her so you can get in a good finishing stroke.
[B][COLOR="#40E0D0"]Dislikes/Fears:[/COLOR][/B] She fears and dislikes her past. It haunts her. Darkness, for when she closes her eyes she sees their faces, their eyes, their corpses. Silence, because in it, she hears their screams and curses. She fears her dreams, nightmares, and memories because so long as she breathes, she will never escape them.
[B][COLOR="#40E0D0"]Wish:[/COLOR][/B] She isn't sure what she will wish for. She has two ideas in her head, and figures that if she makes it through this; she’ll choose one of them depending on how it goes. Some of the times, she wishes to begin anew, with her memory of what’s happened to her wiped away.
The rest of the time, she wishes to know the thoughts of the ghosts who haunt her. She wants to know who exactly must be made to pay for their actions, in more than just blood.
If she chooses the second, she will probably go off in a doomed quest for revenge. What can one lone woman with no allies do against an army?
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Originally Posted by Sarpedon
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