if your charrie doesn't get accepted into the first four, does that mean we're out of the roleplay or we'll come in later?
Name: Elysia Gull
Gender: Female
Age: 16
Appearance: Elysia has tan, bronze-colored skin and short, messily cut curly black hair. She has brown eyes the color of chocolate and is unhealthily thin, with her bones jutting out of her body although her skin sits comfortably atop of them because she's never had much to eat in the first place. Her hands are rough and calloused from years of cooking, cleaning, and laundering, and her feet are scratched and cut-up from going around barefoot pretty much all the time. She always has dirt or mud stains on her face and clothing and even in her hair. She has a fairly average height for her age and gender, standing at approximately five feet and six inches. The clothing Elysia wears is simple and not exactly clean. She only owns a few rough brown tunics and a pair of crudely fashioned sandals that she doesn't wear unless she knows she's going somewhere with rocky terrain.
Village: Valencia is one of the larger villages in the region because it sits on the Illarian Peninsula, right at the tip. The Illarian Peninsula is a prosperous area due to the fact that it's southern coastline constitutes of the Salic Strait, which is one of the only entry points into the main land mass that the Illarian Peninsula juts out of. Valencia is located in a crucial position because traders and merchants frequently stop there upon arriving at the Salic Strait to either sell their wares or just resupply before continuing on.
The economy of Valencia, and the Illarian Peninsula itself, relies heavily on incoming trade. Merchants from regions all around the world gather at Valencia. The only reason why it isn't a full-blown city is the fact that there is no source of fresh water other than rain (which is plentiful, so that hasn't been too big of a problem yet). The one river that is near Valencia, and of course the Salic Strait, both have brackish water which is unsuitable for drinking. So, the inhabitants of Valencia have no choice but to hope that it rains, which it does often since the Illarian Peninsula is located in a tropical region.
The Illarian Peninsula is very thin and has a somewhat jagged coastline due to the rocks littering the shores, as the effects of weathering and erosion have not fully transformed the beaches into paradises filled with sand. However, the rocks are not so sharp that ships cannot sail in and out of its numerous harbors. A few species of flowers and bushes thrive in the area, including a vibrant pink flower and a tropical-looking bush. They line the streets of Valencia and are a very common sight. Since it can sometimes get very muddy during the rainy season, the roads are basically wooden platforms raised maybe a few inches off the ground. The wood frequently rots away, and not many people bother to replace them.
Within Valencia, the trade and commercial industries are booming. The markets and bazaars are filled with exotic spices and woods, fine silks and exquisitely crafted porcelain, and beautifully woven tapestries to give a few examples. However, during the years while Great Power declined, a group of mercenaries took control of the area in order to gain an upper hand in trade and subsequently fill their coffers with fees and tariffs placed on incoming products and ships. They formed the League of Assassins and eventually started doing the dirty work for the official Valencian government-for a hefty price, of course. As the years passed, the division between the rich and the poor grew wider (partly because the League was sucking the wealth of the government up) and another organization was formed called the Thieves' Guild. The goal of the founders of the Guild was to unite a band of thieves who felt that the huge advantages the League had were unfair. The group started growing at an alarming rate, and the government, disturbed by the rapid growth, began to pay the League to oppose the Guild.
The League valued order and obedience, control and stealth, while the Guild's views were radically different. They believed in individual freedom and being to have a say in your own life.The League obviously had the upper-hand, but as time went on the Guild grew prominent enough to be able to directly and bluntly oppose the League. During Elysia's time, the Guild still has the disadvantage but the endeavors the thieves take on are getting more bold, more forward. Most of the villagers living in Valencia ally themselves with the League because of the fact that the League has pretty much always been there and they want to protect their valuables from the Guild.
Background: Elysia grew up in a period of great turmoil within Valencia. The Guild was getting more feisty, the League was taking harsher measures to root the thieves out. Her father, an expert in metallurgy and especially weaponry, could not find work for the first half of Elysia's life due to the fact that nobody needed someone to make weapons for them besides the League-who believed in a strict social hierarchy and pretty much refused to hire specialized workers from anywhere but the diminishing middle class and up. So, until she was about ten years old, Elysia lived in a cramped shack in the ever-growing slums of Valencia with dirt floors and no bed. She never met her mother, who died in childbirth, and her father very sparingly ever mentioned her name. He never remarried either. All Elysia ever associates with her early years is hunger, hunger, and more hunger. That was when she started to steal, although her items of choice were predominately things to eat. Her father questioned where she acquired the food at first, but as time went on he stopped and just ate.
Finally, when Elysia was a little older than ten years old, her father was able to get a job forging weapons at a mansion belonging to an important League member. While her father toiled away in his workshop, Elysia spent her days scrubbing floors until her knuckles bled and worked as a scullery maid. Elysia occasionally was assigned to dust the myriad of books in the large library of the mansion, which was a task she loved because of the pure allure emanating off the tomes. She would run her fingers along the spines, wishing that she knew what they said. Elysia has always yearned to be able to read, but alas growing up starving doesn't lend well to an education, and she is illiterate. The people in charge of the staff treated the servants harshly, either from fear of the League or just plain meanness. Elysia would frequently go to bed sporting livid bruises and nasty cuts, but she never complained because at least she didn't feel like she would die of hunger every minute. Besides, her father enjoyed doing what he knew how to do, and Elysia didn't want to sour his experience.
That all changed when her father died in an unexpected kitchen fire when Elysia had just turned fifteen, on the cusp of womanhood. Practically penniless and with a hatred for the League, Elysia escaped into the night after her father was buried, never looking back. She stole a few valuables from the mansion but eventually that money ran out. Elysia's job opportunities were scarce, considering the fact that she spent half of her life stealing food and trying to survive and the other half working in the kitchen as a low-paid servant. Finally, she gave up and decided that she needed to join the Guild. Elysia had always had a knack for filching items and pilfering warehouses, and she decided that it was her only skill that could ever help her later on. After successfully gaining admission into the Guild by forking over the little cash she had left from selling the stolen League jewels and stealing a few crates of porcelain, Elysia was able to rent her own little house that sports dirt floors, a fire pit, and a bunch of scrap pieces of cloth flung together to form a bed. She doesn't know much about the outside world or the Great Power, and although she's heard of it, Elysia's always just brushed it off as a meaningless myth. However, sometimes when the eyes of vendors seemingly slip over her or when nobody notices her making a scene while snatching up some item or the other, she wonders if the myths about the Great Power hold any truth to them. Elysia usually dismisses these thoughts, deciding that those instances were just pure luck or coincidental, but she is very uncertain and open to persuasion.
Personal Aspirations: Elysia just wants to live out the rest of her days in relative comfort, surrounded by bountiful food and a soft bed and books-beautiful, beautiful books. She really wants to know how to read, something that she hides from others. Elysia has also wanted to travel the world and see new things, but she knows that it's impractical for the time being.
As for what I want for Elysia, I'm not too sure-I just want her to have a nice ending and hopefully not die a gruesome death.
